MESSAGE & THE BOTTLE
Allardyce: This win means players have been listening and new lads have helped build a good spirit
PREMIER LEAGUE: BATTLE TO STAY UP
Patrick van Aanholt’s first-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win over relegation rivals Boro at Selhurst Park.
And Allardyce, who had criticised the attitude of some Palace players, hailed the result as a potential turning point in the club’s survival struggle.
“We had a two-week break and that worked in our favour,” he said.
“It gave the players a lot of time as well as a lot of good training for the new ones to mix with the lads and build some spirit together.
“The result was a very important win, and also a very important clean sheet. I think the players made the right decisions more than they have done in any game since I have been here.
“I think that means they have been listening over the last two weeks and it has paid off today and now hopefully we can build on that.” Allardyce gave a debut to on-loan Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho and praised the performance of the French international. w“ahse excellent HULL manager Marco Silva was left to rue a missed opportunity after Burnley’s late equaliser prevented the Tigers climbing out of the relegation zone.
Silva said: “Am I happy with a point? Of course not because when you prepare the team to win and looked very commanding in that position.”
Allardyce brushed off stories of behind-thescenes cliques at Palace, insisting that confidence was all that was needed to bring some momentum.
He said: “We are in a seven-team league at the bottom and this brings us a bit closer to our target of finishing at the top of it.” REPORT: See Pullout DEFIANT Sunderland boss David Moyes will call on the spirit of the club’s previous last-gasp relegation escapes to maintain their Premier League future this time around.
Once again the Black Cats find themselves in familiar territory, propping up the rest with 12 games