David Moyes was happy with his side's hard-fought performance in their 1-0 victory over Watford at the Stadium of Light, after left-back Patrick van Aanholt's goal at the beginning of the second-half secured a vital three points for the Black Cats.
Sunderland moved above relegation rivals Hull City and Swansea City with the win and are now just one point off Crystal Palace who sit in 17th.
Moyes praised the commitment of his players: "The players stuck at it, even though it got ugly at times.
"We were slow getting out the blocks and, to be fair to Watford, they started OK. We didn't press enough in the first half."
 Santa did deliver in the final game before Christmas as PvA gifted #SAFC a massive 3 points.
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The ex-Manchester United boss made a brave decision to bring on ex-United defender John O'Shea with ten minutes to go and it paid off and Moyes was delighted with the decision, saying:
"Watford had a lot of set-pieces and we tightened it up with 10 minutes to go by bringing John O'Shea on. You never know if decisions like that are going to work. It did today."
It wasn't a magnificent performance for the spectators, but it was a performance that won them the game and the Sunderland boss knows it's a vital result in the long run:
"I told the players we had to win. It wasn't a great performance but it was a winning performance, which always hides a multitude of sins."
Moyes makes his first return to his former club on Boxing Day as he returns to Old Trafford in a vital game for Sunderland in their survival bid.