Sam Allardyce says Sunderland need five wins to beat the drop
Thursday 25 February 2016 16:26, UK
Sam Allardyce says Sunderland must win at least five games between now and the end of the season if they are to avoid relegation.
The Black Cats sit 19th, but are a point behind Norwich, who are just outside the bottom three, ahead of Allardyce's return to former club West Ham on Saturday.
Sunderland took advantage of a break in Premier League action last week to enjoy a warm weather training camp and the manager believes it will benefit the squad in their fight against the drop.
"It might not happen Saturday, but hopefully down the line it will help and give us the opportunity to get more victories than we've achieved up to now," he said. "We have got to find a minimum of five wins, I think, between now and the end of the season to be safe.
"I think we've won three, drawn two and lost two in our last seven, which has been the best run since I've been here. I think if we can continue that, it has got to start at West Ham on Saturday and certainly if we don't win the game, make sure we don't lose it away from home.
"A point is always a very valuable point away from home, especially in our position and West Ham are a team that has not lost at home since August.
"So, it shows the difficulty of the task we have and one we have to meet head on and use the our confidence that we've gained over the last few games to cause West Ham a few problems."
Allardyce left West Ham in the summer, with his successor Slaven Bilic saying the 61-year-old did a "great job" during his time as manager of the club.
The Sunderland boss accepts he had his detractors at Upton Park but believes the majority of fans were behind him and maintains he did a "fantastic " job in East London.
"Overall, the vast majority always thought I had done a good job there," he said. "There is always a small minority that shows some disapproval and West Ham is no different from any other club in that they make themselves heard more than others sometimes.
"But it is not a Sam Allardyce thing - it is a West Ham thing, it's not really me because all the others (former managers) have had the same amount of stick I've had over the years anyway.
"For me, I did a fantastic job in giving them the opportunity to stay in the Premier League and I did what they asked me to do and I always take great satisfaction when the football club is in a better position when you leave than when you took over."
