Steven Fletcher has described Sam Allardyce as the most organised manager he has ever played for and believes the 61-year-old’s eye for detail and exceptional communication skills can save Sunderland from relegation.
“The boys have got a lot of confidence now with the new manager coming in,” said the Scotland striker, who scored one goal and created another as Sunderland beat Newcastle United 3-0 in Allardyce’s first home game on Sunday.
It was the team’s first home Premier League win of the season and has renewed belief that, under Dick Advocaat’s successor, survival is possible. “The new manager is very hands-on and likes to speak to the boys a lot, which is good,” said Fletcher.
“He’s a lot more organised. He is probably the most organised manager I have worked with. He demands a lot from everyone but he works hard on the training pitch as well, which is good too.
“Sam Allardyce is a big man with a big presence. When he walks in the room everyone shuts up and listens to him. So that’s a good start.
“We hope it [beating Newcastle] can kickstart our season. We need to grow on this now and take it into the next few games. The gaffer has got us organised and is trying to make us hard to beat. We need to stop leaking goals and we need to score more. We did that against Newcastle.”
Allardyce, though, stressed his players needed to improve after a victory facilitated largely by Fabricio Coloccini’s controverisal concession of a penalty and subsequent red card – the subject of an appeal by Newcastle – after barging Fletcher with a shoulder in first-half stoppage time.
Needless to say, the striker felt Robert Madley, the referee, got both decisions right and the Scot was not about to offer Sunderland’s neighbours and fellow relegation strugglers any sympathy.
“There was maybe a lack of belief [with us] at the start of the season,” he said. “We just manage to survive every season, and we were going into this one thinking: ‘Is it going to happen again?’ But football is a lot to do with confidence and a lot of the boys can build from this.”
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