Sunday 16 October 2016 11:12, UK
In-form Stoke midfielder Joe Allen admits his recent splurge of goals has been a pleasant surprise, after taking his tally to five in four games.
The Wales international shook off concerns over his hamstring to hit a double on Saturday as the Potters claimed their first three points of the season with a 2-0 victory over Sunderland.
Allen had scored just five times in his previous three seasons for club and country, a total he has matched in his past four appearances, and he seems to be revitalised playing in a more advanced midfield position under Stoke boss Mark Hughes.
And the 26-year-old was quick to point out the contributions of his new team-mates like Marko Arnautovic, Wilfried Bony, Peter Crouch and Xherdan Shaqiri in helping with his haul of goals.
"I don't really know where it's coming from," Allen said.
"When you play off players like Wilf and Crouchy when he's come on, when you've got the quality of Marko on one wing and Shaq on the other, you know if you get in the right positions every now and then something is going to drop for you and at the moment it seems to be falling for me."
Allen has settled quickly at the Bet365 Stadium following his £13m switch from Liverpool during a summer after he helped Wales advance to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
"I'm loving life at the minute," Allen said. "I was really excited about joining the club and getting going here. I think you can see how much it's benefiting my football."
While Allen has started the season in fine fettle, it has taken his team until the eighth attempt to record a first Premier League success of the campaign.
Following the win over listless Sunderland, they have an opportunity to move up the table with a run of games against Hull, Swansea, West Ham, Bournemouth, Watford and Burnley.
"The self-belief and confidence has never left the changing room," Allen said.
"We knew the quality we had in there. The performances we've shown, especially in the last couple of weeks, we knew it was just a matter of time. We've had to be patient, it's taken longer than we would have hoped to get the first win but I think people will start believing again that there's a few more to come."
