Sam Allardyce said he didn't want Steven Fletcher 'moping around'

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce says he allowed Steven Fletcher to join Marseille on loan because he did not want him "moping around and feeling sorry for himself" about not playing.

Striker Fletcher, 28, joined the French Ligue 1 side on Deadline Day after being informed by Allardyce that he was unlikely to feature in their fight against relegation.

The Black Cats also brought in forwards Dame N'Doye and Wahbi Khazri in the winter window and Allardyce believes he has enough options up-front in their battle for enough points to stay up.

"It was a big decision made by both of us but in the end Steven wasn't happy not to have played and I didn't feel he was going to get back in," Allardyce said

"So on that basis I didn't want him hanging around, moping and feeling sorry for himself, so I took the decision on the fact we've got N'Doye, Jermain Defoe, young Duncan Watmore and Wahbi Khazri.

"They can all play on the front-line, so I think I've got plenty of options there."

Allardyce saw his side beaten for a third time in five Premier League games by Manchester City on Tuesday but he hopes his new recruits can improve performances and results.

"Our January business was a simply gamble on the basis that I've had the players for a considerable amount of time and the results hadn't gone as well as I expected," he said

"Certainly the early indication is that the new lads made a very good contribution on Tuesday night. How much we dominated the game was encouraging. 

"We are behind the points-scores we set for each phase of the season since I came here so I'm hoping with the new players that will change over the next two phases. it needs to happen quickly."