Former Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce says the club’s successful survival bid in 2016 felt like winning the league after he helped save the Black Cats from relegation.
The Wearsiders looked doomed to drop out of the Premier League nine years ago, before ‘Big Sam’ was drafted in replace Dick Advocaat in October 2015. Fast forward seven months and his side were celebrating survival after beating Everton 3-0 in front of a delighted Stadium of Light crowd.
It capped a remarkable run that saw dedicated work on the defence pay off – and the goals of Jermain Defoe at the other end fire Sunderland to safety. Looking back on his time on Wearside, Allardyce remains grateful for the backing of the supporters, and key people at the club.
“I’d played for Sunderland, and I thought it’s too big a club not to have a chat with,” Allardyce said on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. “They’d escaped relegation two or three times before that, so I met Ellis (Short), and I said I’ll come and do my best but I’ll need your help in the January window. We’ll definitely need a couple of players, which ended up being four.
“That started to make a difference, because the quality of those players made a difference and made a difference to the players already there, and Jermain Defoe scored 18 goals in a struggling side. Everybody told me when I got there that he couldn’t play up front on his own, I asked him why, and he said he’s never said that to anybody, and he’s got no problem with it.
“We knew we weren’t playing off him, we knew we were only playing down the side because he loved a channel ball, and he loved to get in the box and that was it. Simple. I love simple football. It’s the best football ever, and this man scored 18.
“I sorted the defence out. I always talk about clean sheets and how important it is to get back into our shape, and I always hammered that side of it because I knew there was a goal, and that goal was going to get us more three points, and kept us in the league.
“I think we only finished fourth or fifth from bottom, so even though we had good runs it was a great moment for me that Sunderland fans got to stay up during the last game at home, which was against Everton and we won 3-0.
“It feels like you’ve won the league. The relief is that big, but Sunderland was a good trip. I was really appreciated by the fans not only as a player, but also as a manager.”
Allardyce would leave to become England manager that summer, of course, with David Moyes taking over. However, the former Manchester United and Everton boss could not pull off a repeat performance, with Sunderland relegated to the Championship in 2017 and then League One the following season.
However, hopes are high on Wearside of a return to the top flight under Regis Le Bris this year, with the Black Cats looking strong candidates for a play-off place at the very least.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/staying-up-sunderland-like-winning-31128738
