Allardyce: Change of scenery will help Crystal Palace stave off relegation

Crystal Palace are currently in Morocco for a spell of warm-weather training and manager Sam Allardyce believes the time abroad will benefit his side in their battle against relegation.

The Eagles lifted themselves out of the Premier League’s bottom three last Saturday, as second-half goals by Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend guided them to a vital 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

That made it back-to-back wins for the first time since Allardyce took charge just before Christmas, building on their 1-0 home victory over Middlesbrough, who have replaced them in the relegation zone.

A free weekend, with their match against Tottenham Hotspur postponed due to their opponents’ FA Cup commitments, gave Palace a chance for the change in scenery.

Allardyce said: “The need for warm weather training, both physically and mentally, is without a doubt one of the reasons I have been a manager for so many years, and the players have been successful in increasing their performance.

“The toils and tribulations they go through during Christmas and New Year are very intense and the weather is terrible in England.

“We’ve got the sunshine here and so the lads can hugely increase their Vitamin D intake because of it, which makes everything better.

“When we get back hopefully the lads will reap the benefits. I’m not saying that it will make results an instant success, but it’ll give us a better capability to get them.”