Palace star on survival scrap: It’s not mission impossible
The battle for Premier League survival looks set to go to the wire – with only three points separating the bottom five clubs.
Bottom club Sunderlandand Crystal Palace are on 19 points apiece, with 13 matches to go, with Hull City completing the drop zone trio, one point better off.
Defending champions Leicester (21) and Middlesbrough (22) are just outside the relegation places, while Swansea City (24) and Bournemouth (26) are far from safe either.
Palace are gearing up for a crucial run-in as former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce looks to preserve his managerial record of never being relegated from the top flight.
And defender Damien Delaney holds out hope for the Eagles, despite picking up just one win under Allardyce.
“This is going to go to the wire, so we need everyone to get behind us because we are certainly not dead and buried, we are not in a mission impossible situation,” insisted 35-year-old Delaney.
“We have 13 games left and are only two points off getting out the bottom three places.
“As a group of players, we need to stick together and move forward after the break with our game against Middlesbrough at Selhurst (on Saturday week).”
After the 4-0 drubbing from Sunderland, Palace improved to make Stoke fight every inch for their 1-0 home win last weekend.
And veteran centre-back Delaney told cpfc.co.uk: “The performance we gave in the game at Stoke City has got to be the blueprint going forward.
“We have been working an awful lot on our shape and being defensively better and I think our display showed the work we had put in on the training ground since the last game.”
Middlesbrough – in their first top-flight campaign since 2008-09 – have easily the best goal difference of the teams at the foot of the table, but their lack of goals threatens to keep them in trouble all the way to the final game.
But spirits remain good at the Riverside, according to midfielder Adam Clayton, with a six-pointer against Palace looming next weekend – though they have an FA Cup fifth round clash at home to Oxford United first up this weekend.
“It will ebb and flow until the end of the season,” said 28-year-old Clayton.
“Other results can add pressure but they can galvanise you as well.
“We’ve been in this situation last year as well, when there were some crazy results. We’ll keep concentrating on ourselves – it’s in our hands – and keep doing what we are doing to get over the line again.”
Third-bottom Hull are in Portugal for a seven-day warm-weather training stint, and striker Oumar Niasse says the squad should make the most of the experience.
Boss Marco Silva has transformed Hull’s performances since taking charge on January 5, and Niasse, on loan from Everton, enthused: “It is a very important week.
“For me and the other players that joined the Club last month, it is going to be good to spend all of this time together to get to know everybody better.
“The spirit is already good, but this time away can only make it even better.
“I’m sure the coach will be spelling out the preparation for the rest of the season and it’s a chance for us all to clear our heads and get the focus on the next 13 games, which starts with Burnley when we get back. We all have to concentrate and work hard to make sure we get out of it what is intended.”
Swansea have enjoyed a resurgence under new boss Paul Clement, but January signing Jordan Ayew insists that the job is far from done.
“It is only February, and there are a lot of points still to play for,” said the former Aston Villa forward.
“What the team have done in 2017 is phenomenal, but we have to keep going. There is a long way to go.”
Ayew, back from the Africa Cup of Nations, made his bow in the crucial 2-0 weekend win over Leicester, and he admitted: “It was fantastic to get three points on my debut – I could not have asked for more. The most important thing was that we won and moved further away from the relegation zone.”
Swansea visit leaders Chelsea next weekend.