JULIAN Speroni was full of praise for Sunderland boss Gus Poyet following Saturday's goalless draw at the Stadium of Light.
The Crystal Palace goalkeeper kept yet another clean sheet and was seen embracing with fellow South American Poyet at the final whistle.
And Speroni believes the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss has the right ingredients to keep Sunderland up as well as progressing his managerial career.
He said: "Gus is a good friend and I've known him for a few years. We met just playing each other and also at some charity events.
"He's from Uruguay and I'm from Argentina, so we're neighbours. We keep in touch when we can, he's a good person and has a lovely family.
"He wanted to win on Saturday, I wanted to win on Saturday, so we just shook hands at the end.
"I think both sides have a good chance to stay up. Gus plays good football and knows how to get his teams to play.
"Gus, I have no doubt he's up to the challenge at Sunderland. He has good capabilities and I wish him all the best, he has a great career ahead of him.
"We took advantage of their poor start (in August) but Gus has managed to settle the ship and you can see the difference.
"Sunderland have a great team and they have a chance to stay up with us. It's very tight so who knows? Anything can happen but it's going to be the team who hold their nerve until the end."
