SAM DEFIES HIS CRITICS

SAM ALLARDYCE defended his tactics after the latest volley of abuse from his Everton critics.

Allardyce has guided Everton from relegation danger to ninth since taking charge in November on a deal until 2019.

But his style has not endeared him to some fans – chants of “f*** off Sam Allardyce” were sparked when he replaced winger Yannick Bolasie with defender Ramiro Funes Mori – and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is planning on a change in the summer.

Allardyce (above, standing behind Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal) responded: “They go with Abraham up front, so we have to protect that with a centre-half. It’s no good us keeping four at the back if they’re going to put five up on the frontline because they want to try to go for the win.

“The changes I made worked very well for two reasons: we might have won it in the end with the Seamus Coleman chance and we made sure we didn’t lose it.”