Sam Allardyce says pressure will be on Sunderland rather than Leicester on Sunday
Friday 8 April 2016 17:30, UK
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce feels the pressure is on them and not opponents Leicester going into their Super Sunday clash at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats have drawn their last four matches in a row and go into the weekend four points behind Norwich, who play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
In contrast, Leicester are top of the table and pushing for their first Premier League title.
Allardyce described their rise from relegation candidates last season to contenders this as "Roy of the Rovers stuff", but he still feels his side has what it takes to defeat them.
"I hope we can perform this week like we did the last. Hopefully that will be enough to bring us our biggest three points of the season against the side at the top of the league who deserve to be where they are," he said.
"It would only be their fourth defeat. Hopefully we can be clinical enough. We are capable of doing it, I feel.
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"It's Roy of the Rovers stuff for those that are old like me who remember Roy of the Rovers. It's a fairytale. After our game, I hope they continue to go on and win. But I hope we can stop them in their tracks first.
"There's a lot more pressure on us than them, there's no doubt about that, with the position we're in. We've been able to handle that pressure very well in performance terms.
"It's a much bigger game for us than them on the basis of our Premier League status. It would still be an outstanding season if they finished second and not first.
"It's been interesting to see they've mastered change of the tactics as the season's gone on. When I was watching them in the early part they were much more open and counter attacking, which brought them lots of goals and comebacks.
"Now they've mastered the way the opposition have set themselves up against them, dropping deeper and not allowing the space. They've still managed to break them down for the all-important 1-0s. The clean sheet ratio is fantastic too and that's why they're at the top.
"If we are going to beat them we can't afford to miss the chances we had last week [when they drew 0-0 with West Brom], nor the chances Southampton made against them last week.
"That's going to be very important for us. We have to try and be the team that scores first. When they score first, they are very difficult to break down. They're magnificent defensively."
Allardyce and his coaching staff took the squad training on Sunderland's beaches this week and he felt altering their routine was helpful.
There's a lot more pressure on us than them, there's no doubt about that, with the position we're in.
"A change of scenery is something we thought we needed. Although we have a fantastic facility here, you can get cocooned in it sometimes," he added.
"A fresh outlook was needed and quite a lot of our fans walking along didn't expect it and enjoyed watching, as did the players.
"The wet sand was actually a perfect surface for the players. The only thing we were missing was a good packet of fish and chips, which they can't have now. We could, but they can't."
The Sunderland squad were also joined in training by their U8s side this week, who helped add an extra dimension to proceedings.
"The U8s were absolutely tremendous. There were such a lot of great little characters, who were not shy about telling the players what some of their dads had said about them, which was quite funny," said Allardyce.
"It's a huge commitment [to develop young players] but we take it upon ourselves that it's the only way we can develop top level footballers now.
"But it needs a big effort from everybody and most importantly from the parents and the youngsters themselves. We try and make it as enjoyable as possible and training with the first team certainly sent them all home happy."
Watch Sunderland v Leicester on Sunday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 12:30pm, followed on the same channel by Tottenham v Manchester United at 3:30pm.
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