Allardyce slams Sunderland players; wants new signings

Rob Conlon
Sam Allardyce: Manager's side well beaten at Manchester City

Sam Allardyce: Manager's side well beaten at Manchester City

Sam Allardyce blasted his Sunderland players after their defeat at Manchester City and admits he needs new signings if they are to avoid relegation.

Sunderland were 3-0 down after 23 minutes at the Etihad, before eventually succumbing to a 4-1 loss.

The result leaves the Black Cats 19th in the Premier League, five points off of safety.

“I’ve changed the side as much as I could, everyone has had a chance it is about what we can do in the window. I was hoping the players would show me more, but they have not done that since that third win,” he said.

“Now it is three wins in nine and six losses, we are in the bottom three again and that puts pressure on us and hopefully we can ease that in January by getting new players in.”

Speaking on the defeat at City, Allardyce rued Sunderland’s slow start, and was also concerned by the lack of fight from his players.

“We started slowly. We have been trying to get the players more organised and more resilient so they can play their way into the game. The only way you can do that is not concede an early goal, particularly away from home,” he added.

“Injuries aside, which is making things that bit more difficult, we have to look at ourselves and be an awful lot better.

“We lack consistency. We do OK in possession but it is what we do out of possession. Our position won’t be determined by what we did at Manchester City but you want to see a bit more fight than we saw today.”

Allardyce appeared to have helped galvanise Sunderland after taking over in early October, guiding the side to wins over arch rivals Newcastle, as well as Crystal Palace and Stoke City.

However, they have now lost their last four matches, and their survival prospects are starting to once more look bleak.

Asked if his side could avoid the drop, ‘Big Sam’ replied: “The fact of the matter is results are not good enough at the moment. The results have to turn and turn quickly,” he concluded.

“The way we are going at the moment it is where only a win will do and the way we are going at the moment we won’t win every game. Draws are also important. That is what kept Sunderland up last time.”