Well, they want continuity and stability at Sunderland. It was perhaps fitting, then, that Dick Advocaat marked his first game in charge with a defeat, a fourth in six matches to leave the Black Cats perilously perched one point above the drop zone. Not even the re-introduction of top goalscorer Adam Johnson – on as a second-half substitute after the club lifted his suspension following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with an under-age girl – could inspire a side who have won just once in 2015. Gus Poyet paid for that run with his job this week, but Advocaat must repair those ruins if his own CV is not to be stained with a first relegation in 28 years in the dugout. Diafra Sakho scored a late winner to earn West Ham all three points against Sunderland in the Premier League encounter . Sakho struck from a tight angle in the 88th minute to earn his West Ham side all three points against Sunderland . The Senegalese striker shot past Santiago Vergini and into the bottom corner in the dying minutes . Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon watches on in despair as Sakho finds the bottom corner of his net late on . Stewart Downing and James Collins celebrate a hard-fought victory for West Ham at Upton Park on Saturday evening . Indeed, the Dutchman suggested on Friday that he was ‘relegation proof’. Let’s hope he is also immune to criticism, for without wins the honeymoon period will expire far quicker than his nine-game contract. Advocaat, though, might have celebrated victory on his Premier League bow had former Hammer Jermain Defoe not spurned a first-half sitter. The home fans were jeering him before that miss. Their cheers were laced with irony by the time he was substituted on 88 minutes after a dire display. Within 30 seconds of his exit Diafra Sakho was showing Defoe how to locate the back of the net as he smashed an uncompromising winner. It would have made for painful viewing for Defoe and Advocaat, especially as there was a strong suspicion of a foul on Seb Larsson seconds before Sakho hammered his 12th of the season to lift Sam Allardyce’s side to ninth. West Ham: Adrian 6.5, Jenkinson 6, Collins 6, Kouyate 6, Cresswell 6.5, Song 6.5, Noble 6, Downing 5.5, Nolan 6 (Nene 80), Jarvis 5 (Cole 46, 6), Sakho (O'Brien 90). Subs Not Used: Demel, Amalfitano, Jaaskelainen, Poyet. Goals: Sakho 88. Sunderland: Pantilimon 6.5, Reveillere 6, O'Shea 7, Brown 5 (Vergini 12, 6), Van Aanholt 6.5, Gomez 6, Larsson 6, Rodwell 6, Fletcher 6 (Johnson 73, 6), Defoe 5 (Graham 88), Wickham 7. Subs Not Used: Jones, Bridcutt, Mannone, Watmore. Booked: Wickham. Att: 34,914 . Ref: Lee Mason (Lancashire) 5. Diafra Sakho scored a late winner for West Ham, which is shown by our graphic from match zone. CLICK HERE FOR MORE . Adam Johnson made a return to the Sunderland first-team squad as he took up a place on the bench . Johnson came off the bench in the 73rd minute in place of Steven Fletcher after the club lifted his suspension . And Advocaat said: ‘The luck was not on our side. Everybody saw it (the foul) and not the referee, but I do not want to complain. ‘I can take confidence from that performance. If Defoe scores they have to take more risks and we would have got more space. It was a chance and a player of his quality should at least hit the target. ‘But I did not expect the goal from West Ham because everything was under control.’ Allardyce agreed with his opposite number. ‘It was probably a foul but it’s about time something went for us,’ he said. ‘In the end it was a devastating decision for Sunderland because we scored on the back of it. ‘But I thought we deserved to win. We’re heading for the best points total we’ve had since we’ve been back in the Premier League. You can’t ask for more than that.’ For Advocaat, this is no time for hard-luck stories and the 67-year-old needs to draw on his experience – even though none of it is in the English top-flight – to avoid the ignominy of a first demotion. He did answer one career-long criticism with his first team selection, three strikers in the starting XI a rebuttal to those who suggested the defensive-minded coach would try to spoil his way to survival. Dick Advocaat was an animated figure on the touchline in his first match in charge of the Black Cats . Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe takes on West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate on his return to Upton Park . Sunderland's Jack Rodwell holds off the challenge from West Ham United midfielder Alex Song . West Ham midfielder Mark Noble turns away from Sunderland's Jordi Gomez and looks for a pass . Two of those frontmen combined in the seventh minute to carve the game’s first opening. Defoe scampered down the right wing before locating Connor Wickham who, 18 yards out, controlled eloquently on his chest before smashing a volley down the throat of Adrian, the Spaniard fisting to safety. Steven Fletcher – the third of Advocaat’s attacking trio – then sprung Defoe clear with a headed flick but the former resident failed to silence the locals as he spooned woefully wide. Advocaat wore a pained expression at the passing of what was the sort of chance Defoe would have dispatched in his pomp. And he would have looked even more horrified had Sakho’s header – from Aaron Cresswell’s whipped centre – bounced inside the post rather than inches wide with Costel Pantilimon beaten. It had not taken long for Advocaat to vacate his dugout earlier in the half and the Little General spent the bulk of the opening period barking orders from the touchline. He had promised to run on the pitch and reprimand any players who did not adhere to his instruction, and Jack Rodwell was very nearly the first to incur his wrath when one pass was jettisoned straight out of play. And he might have been tempted to bolt on and drag Defoe from the action within minutes of the second half when a promising attack broke down following a feeble back-heel from the forlorn frontman. Johnson eventually emerged to warm up just after the hour mark and was predictably the subject of taunts. Sunderland defender Wes Brown had his match cut short early as he was forced off injured . Brown hobbled off in the 12th minute and was replaced by Santiago Vergini at Upton Park in the Premier League clash . Sunderland forward Jordi Gomez evades a challenge from West Ham's Cameroon midfielder Song . But the home fans soon forgot about his presence amid the injustice of the refereeing error which cost them a penalty and a certain red card for Santiago Vergini. Carl Jenkinson loaded a deadball forward from his own half and John O’Shea inadvertently flicked on to Kevin Nolan, lurking in the six-yard area. The Hammers skipper, however, was denied a strike on goal by Vergini’s man-handling act but the flag was up for offside, the assistant having mistaken O’Shea’s head for that of a home player. But West Ham did enjoy a spot of good fortune seconds before Sakho’s winner when Larsson was flattened by Nene. It was Advocaat, however, who was left feeling flat.
Diafra Sakho scores late winner as West Ham win for the first time since January 18 . Senegalese striker's goal ended a three-game losing streak for Sam Allardyce's side . Dick Advocaat took charge of Sunderland for the first time since taking over from Gus Poyet . Adam Johnson returned to the Sunderland side after the club lifted his suspension .