For a manager who has been involved in football for as long he has, it's not often David Moyes gets to experience many 'firsts' at this stage in his career.
Spaning for almost 20 years, Moyes has been in charge at five clubs in two different countries and his appointment as Manchester United manager in 2013 saw him threaten to become a long-term manager at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Nowadays, he's leading the fight for survival in Sunderland and his side were yesterday handed a timely boost with an emphatic 4-0 victory over fellow strugglers Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
All four of their goals came in the opening half and Moyes acknowledged that the performance was something he had never seen before in his career.
"After gettting 4-0 up at half-time - I'm not sure if I've been in that position any time during my managerial career," he told reporters after the game.
"It felt good. We did a great job in containing them and what we thought Crystal Palace would do. We scored good goals and when you've got a predator like Jermain Defoe you're always capable of getting those one or two moments in a game when he gets the chance to score.
"They were making sure they stopped everything going in. We fell victim to injuries again this afternoon which was a bit disappointing. It forces us into changes a little earlier than we wanted to make them."
Jermain Defoe scored twice in stoppage time at the end of the first half to give Sunderland a four-goal cushion heading into the break against Crystal Palace. Image: Jonathan Brady / PA Wire/PA Images
The victory comes off the back of a credible scoreless draw against a Tottenham side who are pushing to repeat their feat of finishing in the top four for successive seasons. Moyes pointed out the importance of building momentum at this stage of the season.
"We need to go on another run. I've said this all along, we have to find another way of getting on another run in the second half of the season to put ourselves in a position where we won't be in the bottom three come the end."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
