Fear factor is crippling us, claims Sam

Sam Allardyce believes fear got the better of his Crystal Palace side in the 4-0 defeat to Sunderland.

The former Black Cats boss saw his side go in at half-time trailing 4-0 after Lamine Kone, Didier Ndong and a double from Jermain Defoe put Sunderland in a commanding lead at the break.

Allardyce sent his players out five minutes early for the second half but they couldn’t find a way back into the match, with Sunderland heading back to Wearside with a crucial three points in the relegation battle.

“I think it was all about fear for the players,” said Allardyce.

“Fear overtook them and they lost control. You have to keep control mentally, and much more so when you go a goal down.

“It is apparent now that the players are struggling. I’ve got to get rid of that fear and get them playing much better.

“I saw it against Swansea and again [against Sunderland] – we’ve lost to teams below us and there has been that fear.

“We have to overcome that fear we have playing here.

“It’s not down to the fans; the fans don’t place them under a huge amount of pressure, compared to other clubs I’ve managed. They want to support and get behind them.”

The former West Ham and Newcastle manager was also asked if he had substituted Damien Delaney as a result of the defender being confronted by an angry supporter at halftime.

“No, not really, no,” he responded. “We played a very good game with that system and team at Bournemouth, so I had to change the system to try and help the players get better.”