Friday 3 February 2017 15:08, UK
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has urged his players not to buckle under pressure when they host his former club Sunderland on Saturday.
Palace secured their first Premier League win since Allardyce succeeded Alan Pardew when they beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, and a further three points could ensure they conclude the weekend outside of the bottom three.
Sunderland, who Allardyce left last summer to accept the England job, are without a win in eight matches in all competitions and, should Palace win, they will leave the Black Cats in even deeper trouble.
"I just need the players to handle the pressure, because it is massive pressure on us," Allardyce said. "We will be - particularly from our fans - expected to win.
"We had that sort of expectation against Swansea just a few weeks ago. There were different circumstances why we lost that game then, but it is the same pressure we have to deal with and produce a performance.
"For the players it's making sure they focus like they did on Tuesday night, with the level of performance they gave. Hopefully that'd be enough to win. I would hate to see the type of performance we gave against Swansea."
The 62-year-old, who helped Sunderland survive last season, faces the Premier League club for the first time since leaving for the England job and is unsure of the reception he will receive.
"I don't know if some of them are still disappointed I left," admitted Allardyce. "Some are still really appreciative of what happened in my short period there.
"In the end they all knew that there was no way on earth that I could turn the England coach's position down. I'm sure they'll be reasonably okay."
New signing Patrick van Aanholt, who joined from Sunderland during the January transfer window, is also expected to make his home debut for Palace after appearing for the first time at Bournemouth.
"Patrick will be okay," Allardyce added. "He's a professional; decided to move on, chose us, and very quickly we're playing against his old club. I'm sure he'll want to give a very good performance."
Palace remain without the injured Jeffrey Schlupp, Steve Mandanda and Bakary Sako. New arrivals Mamadou Sakho and Luka Milivojevic will also miss out, respectively owing to a lack of match fitness and visa issues.
