HE might have had to bide his time before becoming Sunderland’s man between the posts, but Costel Pantilimon has justified his inclusion ahead of last season’s favourite Vito Mannone – and he has no intention of moving.

In preventing Newcastle United from finding the net at St James’ Park on Sunday with a number of top quality saves, Pantilimon continues to help turn Sunderland around after a slow start to the campaign.

When he faces Hull City at the Stadium of Light today he will look for his fifth clean sheet from nine matches and has conceded just seven goals (four arrived against Manchester City) during that run.

The extra stability he has brought to a backline which has also performed better since Mannone’s back-to-back blunders against Arsenal and Southampton has had a huge bearing on the team’s form too.

Suddenly Sunderland have eyes on the top half of the Premier League because they have lost just once with him in goal. While they have drawn five of those, the victories over Crystal Palace and Newcastle have lifted them clear of danger for now.

“Maybe we drew a lot of games but I think we’ve been playing well,” said Pantilimon, who moved from Manchester City in the summer. “Maybe sometimes we were unlucky not to win the games. It was very good for us on Sunday. We played well and that was important for us and our confidence. Now I hope we can continue like this.

“The derby was a great game for us but now it’s finished we’re thinking about the next one. It’s important for us to have a run of good games and to grow with every one.

“There are a lot of games coming up over Christmas. It’s going to be difficult for the players and we expect it to be hard. But we have a lot of very good players and everyone can do a job for us in the next few games.”

During the second half of Sunderland’s derby day win on Tyneside, Pantilimon made two stunning saves to stop Sissoko and Ayoze Perez drives that were heading for the top corner.

And the 27-year-old will never forget his first Tyne-Wear experience. He said: “Before the game all my team-mates told me about the derby, but I didn’t really know what it would be like until it started.

“On Sunday it was a great atmosphere with great fans - both teams had great fans. But I’m happy because we got them the victory.

“We expected a difficult game. It was important we played as a team and we contributed to a great derby, a great match. It was important we got the three points for the fans because they really wanted this derby victory.

“It was nice to make a couple of saves too. It was probably my best save, I don’t know. It was good that I was able to help my team, it’s very important. My team-mates help me all the time. We’re starting to become a good team.”