Friday 6 May 2016 00:14, UK
Sam Allardyce says Sunderland must avoid 'losing the plot like Tottenham' when Chelsea visit on Saturday.
Spurs had nine players booked and are now up on an FA charge of failing to control their players after their Premier League title hopes were ended during a fractious 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Allardyce believes the pressure told and has warned his own side any loss of temper could deal a damaging blow to their chances of survival this season.
Sunderland go into the weekend a point behind fourth-bottom Newcastle with a game in hand, and their manager said: "You saw it in Tottenham, I think, on Monday night when they lost the plot. We can't afford to do that. We have to stay focused from start to finish.
"Tottenham lost a goal then lost the plot mentally, so then all of a sudden, all the talent they have in that side just went by the way and they ended up not only losing the game, but doing the strangest thing I've ever seen a Tottenham side do, and that's get nine players booked and make some quite ferocious tackles at the same time.
"That shows you. What happened to Tottenham mentally, we cannot afford for that to happen to our team.
"Perhaps it's because they are, as Mauricio Pochettino says, such a young team that they in the end, couldn't quite cope with that pressure and lost the plot.
"That's the last reaction we want from our team in any of the last three games. We want to be aggressive, yes, we want controlled aggression, passion, desire, commitment, yes. But we don't want to go over the top and lose control of ourselves."
Jermain Defoe's late penalty rescued a point at Stoke last time out, and Allardyce knows the striker's 14 league goals this season have kept Sunderland afloat.
He said: "Jermain's happy to be playing every week and playing every week makes him a little bit sharper in front of goal. There's no doubt without him, we would have been struggling an awful lot more than we are now points-wise."
