Palace boss Allardyce eyes busy summer

Sam Allardyce may have steered Crystal Palace to safety this season, but he is refusing to rest on his laurels ahead of a busy summer of spending.

The 62-year-old replaced Alan Pardew with the club in dire trouble, but turned things round in an impressive second half of the campaign that included wins against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

That ultimately made the difference as the Eagles finished 14th in the table, seven points clear of the drop.

Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images

Yet Allardyce is now looking to next season and has challenged the club to invest in new players.

“My job was to lift everyone on the pitch and behind the scenes and get them working in the right direction,” he said.

“With the investment in January, very, very, very good performances came and that is why we stayed in the Premier League.

“Beating Chelsea away, Arsenal at home and Liverpool away in the space of a few days, had we not got [those wins] we would have been relegated. They were the big ones.

“We now need to grow, develop and invest. You need to choose the right players and not the wrong ones.

“Recruitment is the difficult task in the summer. Any players we bring in have to be better than the ones we have now.”