Sam Allardyce has lavished praise on Jermain Defoe ahead of Sunderland’s trip to Crystal Palace, with the former Black Cats boss revealing his admiration for the prolific frontman.
Defoe was key during the Palace manager’s time on Wearside, with his goals playing a pivotal role as Big Sam and the Black Cats produced a big run of form to avoid the drop.
And Defoe has been just as deadly during the 2016-17 season, with his impressive haul of 12 Premier League goals taking him fifth in the all-time rankings.
“We have got to mark Defoe,” admitted Allardyce. “That’s my main concern; the wee man is electric.
“We can’t afford to make one slip tomorrow with that man – he’s so good – one or two chances with Jermain results in a goal normally, so we need to be alert and very sharp in around our own box defensively to try and nullify him.”
He continued: “We will be - particularly from our fans - expected to win.
“We had that sort of expectation against Swansea just a few weeks ago – there were different circumstances why we lost that game then – but it is the same pressure we have to deal with and produce a performance.
“For the players it's making sure they focus like they did on Tuesday night with the level of performance they gave, and hopefully that’d be enough to win the game.
"I would hate to see the type of performance we gave against Swansea."