Only N’Doye, on loan from Trabzonspor, of that quartet will not be at the Stadium of Light next season and the permanent signings have all had a crucial role to play in keeping Sunderland in the Premier League. There was an unbelievable atmosphere and it makes this day more special. That, though, is about as old school as Allardyce gets these days. It is, in fact, the perception which is antiquated.
Advertisement
Sunderland’s 3-0 win against struggling Everton on Wednesday was sufficient to end survival hopes on Tyneside and in Norfolk.
Indeed, everything Allardyce does is geared towards extracting the maximum from mind and body. Going forward, this will make such a huge difference. These are passionate players that have given their all for Sunderland in this run in, and they deserve all the credit in the world. They were new. It was Allardyce’s doing.
Despite Everton’s abject recent form, in contrast to his own side’s stunning win over Chelsea at the weekend, Allardyce had warned against complacency and those nerves were inevitably evident in the early stages as the visitors made what passed for the early running.
Lamine Koné celebrates with Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul after scoring the second goal for Sunderland against Everton at the Stadium of Light.
What followed against Everton was another inspirational display of might, pride and passion.
But the seaside diversion was a canny ploy built on more than sand.
The turn of the year was a real eye opener for me, how we turned around the season since then we became a lot more resilient, a lot tougher and we showed a lot more quality and we stuck together as a team.
But that inner belief – bordering on arrogance – is the root of his success.
“They have had a soft centre at times, but not with him around”. The important thing now is that spend the money wisely on players. “At this moment, I am not talking about that because we need to play Sunday, but everybody is happy”.
Before the trip to Vicarage Road he will have spoken to a number of players about next season. But there is critical data behind the treatment, for as one insider said: ‘It’s not just a case of freezing your nuts off’. Should his side succumb at Swansea City, he could be handing the Spaniard a bunch of tiring Thursday night Europa League assignments.
All of that, though, is no substitute for his hands-on work in training, and again it comes back to Player – for repetition is the key for Allardyce. Only the 18 goals he scored for Tottenham in the 2009-10 season will better the total of 15 he is likely to settle on when this season concludes, barring a four-goal finale at Watford this weekend. Instead, after hiring 11 managers in as many years, the club’s future has been thrown into uncertainty.
The Spaniard admits that they have found it hard to come to terms with their FA Cup semi-final exit to Manchester United last month. They responded with an energised performance, even if they did lose 1-0. ‘My persuasive attitude might help.
“I look forward to it because it has been such a great achievement for me and I want to take this club forward”.
Advertisement
It is utterly safe to say that without the Englishman, Sunderland would certainly have gone down.
