Allardyce a big fan of Crouch

Crouch: A bit of a handful

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Sam Allardyce is hoping Peter Crouch will not provide him with another reminder of his talent on Saturday.

The Blackburn boss is currently preparing his troops for a tussle with Tottenham at White Hart Lane, and knows his side must beware the ability of Spurs' languid frontman.

Crouch has been in fine form for club and country this term and will be looking to help Harry Redklnapp's side take another step towards a top-four finish this weekend.

He bagged a brace during the reverse fixture with Rovers in December and Allardyce, who tried to sign the lofty striker during his days at Bolton, admits Blackburn will need to be on their guard if they are to avoid a repeat this time around.

"Crouchie is one of my favourites," he said.

"I tried to sign him many times and always thought he was much better than people gave him credit for and he has improved as the years have gone on.

"How many centre-forwards at that height are goalscorers and good centre-forwards, and his England record speaks for itself.

Bargain

"There are not many that can match what he does in the Premier League, and it was he who finished us off when we played just before Christmas.

"We had two chances when I was at Bolton to sign him but didn't come up with the money when we should have - we could have signed him for £2.2million from Aston Villa and that would have been the bargain snatch of the century."

Blackburn still have plenty to play for heading down the final stretch, but Allardyce admits their Premier League fate rests in their own hands - starting at Tottenham.

"Every place is worth another £750,000 and that means an extra £750,000 for next year's budget so I will be driving the players on to the very end," he added.

"Eight of the 10 games left are against teams above us but in the form we are in at the moment hopefully we can surprise a couple of those.

"We have to take advantage of the fact that Harry has had to disrupt his team with five or six injuries to people who would play in the first team on a regular basis.

"Defensively they may be suspect and we have to exploit that - especially as their fans will be expecting them to push forward. We have to expose the gaps they may leave with that style of play."