Sam Allardyce has urged his Crystal Palace players to turn the club’s season around as they fight for Premier League survival.
The Eagles are 19th in the top-flight on 21 points and the former England manager feels the onus is on the players to fight their way out of the relegation zone.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s crucial game against Middlesbrough, Allardyce said, “I’m hoping the players will start turning the season around. There are plenty of points to play for and we need to stop getting beaten.”
The south Londoners have recorded just one win in eleven games, a run that goes back to mid-December. Allardyce has had a difficult start to his time in the Selhurst Park dugout, winning just one of his first eight games in charge since replacing Alan Pardew in December.
Allardyce also claimed that some of the players need to “accept that a lot of them have not played to their best consistently” in recent months and has hinted at making several changes for tomorrow’s game against ‘Boro.
“I’m looking for a solution and hopefully I find that tomorrow by picking eleven players who will play their very best,” said Allardyce.
Two-week break has helped Palace
It’s been two weeks since Palace’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke City and Allardyce feels it has helped the club’s new players to “settle in”.
The Eagles made four signings during the January transfer window and a couple of them, namely Patrick van Aanholt and Jeffrey Schlupp, had to be thrown straight into the starting eleven due to injuries. Luka Milivojevic was finally granted international clearance before the Stoke game and made his debut at the Britannia Stadium, while on-loan Liverpool defender has been fighting a battle against fitness but should feature against Aitor Karanka’s side tomorrow.