Sam Allardyce has saluted his players’ performance after Sunderland gave their survival hopes a massive boost with a 3-0 win against Norwich City.
Big Sam has heaped praise on the squad after goals from Fabio Borini, Jermain Defoe and Duncan Watmore sealed a vital three points at Carrow Road to close the gap between themselves and Premier League safety to just a single point.
Black Cats dealt with intense pressure
The pressure on the players was immense from start to finish, and Allardyce was pleased to see them cope with that in such a big game, as they kept another clean sheet on their way victory.
This saw a six-goal turnaround in goal difference swing in Sunderland’s way with the Black Cats on -18 and Norwich -25, and the manager labelled his sides defending as “superb”.
“Dealing with the pressure paid off, coping with the pressure of the position we are in and playing away from home,” he told the Sunderland Echo.
Allardyce felt like his side coped with the pressure better than their opponents, with clinical finishing at the right times in the game “put the game to bed”.
Sunderland given more hope after win
To come away with a 3-0 result is a massive result and it was a massive performance from the Black Cats, says the manager and it now gives the team “a lot more hope” in their fight to stay in the Premier League.
Allardyce claimed that he would take staying up on goal difference and he believes that it could be a big factor in the run in to the end of the season.
“We will of course look to get as many points as possible from the next five games,” he said.
The Black Cats welcome Arsenal to the Stadium of Light next weekend and Big Sam suggested that his players should get “a lot of confidence” from the win with Norwich.
WatMore could you want from a substitute
Youngster Watmore, who was coming back into the side after an injury, came off the bench at half-time to replace Wahbi Khazri, and the manager has hailed his performance.
Allardyce stated that the first thing he asked from his players between now and the end of the season was clean sheets, but three goals from the front men will have pleased the manager too.
He added: “Duncan came back from a long injury and gives us an alternative – the Roadrunner. Counter attacking football suits him.”
The 22-year-old had only trained with the first-team for “four days’ and Allardyce was pleased to see him back in the side scoring goals straight away.