Dick Advocaat will give Sunderland an answer next Thursday on whether or not he is prepared to stay on as head coach after considering chairman Ellis Short's plans for the club.

The 67-year-old former Rangers manager, who was handed just nine games in which to preserve the Black Cats' Premier League status and did so in eight, confirmed on Friday that he has been made an offer, and that he will respond to it next week.

Advocaat said: "They have made me an offer, yes. It is, in principle, not so important in that way, it is also important what the club wants. Can they invest or not? That's also important to know for myself before I take that decision."

That decision could depend on how much cash Short is prepared to throw at the task of strengthening a squad which for much of the campaign, struggled to win games with 17 of Sunderland's 38 points to date having come from draws.

Advocaat said: "We were discussing that, but he is a very clever man. In principle, he would like more on a regular basis to become more from 10th to the better places. But you also know that you have to invest, otherwise in this league you have no chance.

"Our players have done really, really well in the last eight games, but they need an injection of fresh new players to get more competition in the squad - but not in quantity, in quality."

If the Dutchman has detailed conversations to have with both Short and sporting director Lee Congerton, he also needs to talk to his wife after reportedly promising her the Sunderland job would be his last in football, and that his stay would be temporary.

He said: "The family has a say in this, yes, but I don't want to discuss that on a wider basis. Let's wait and see next week.

"I have said already many times, I have to discuss it and I haven't done it yet. I will start doing that next week, but I want to tell [the club] as quickly as possible.

"I have to make the decision next week, and I will tell the people from Sunderland on Thursday what I will do."

Advocaat arrived on Wearside in March having previously turned down opportunities to manage in the Premier League.

He knew he had taken on a major challenge with the club's last two games comprising trips to FA Cup finalists Arsenal and champions Chelsea, but he could not resist the temptation to put his reputation on the line once again.

He said: "I have had enough opportunities in the past three years to go to clubs, but then we preferred to have a country than on a regular basis a club.

"Then suddenly, Sunderland came just for three months, so that was the opening. And now we have to wait for the reaction."

Advocaat's reaction to the 0-0 draw at Arsenal in midweek, which guaranteed the club's safety ahead of the final-day trip to Stamford Bridge, endeared him further to the club's grateful supporters, as he was reduced to tears both on the touchline and in his post-match press conference.

He made no apology for showing his emotions, but blamed assistant Bert van Lingen, who was also his No.2 at Rangers.

He said: "I was not intending to do it. It was Bert's fault. From the beginning when we arrived here with [coach] Zeljko [Petrovic] and Bert and myself, together with everybody who was involved with the club, we gave everything to them and them to us to stay up.

"Then when he started, I couldn't stop it any more. But I don't care about that. It was a big, big relief. If you get a draw at Arsenal, knowing otherwise what could happen on Sunday, it's a great, great feeling."