Crystal Palace have been in for some close scrutiny this week after their embarrassing defeat to Sunderland at Selhurst Park last weekend, which saw the Eagles drop to 19th in the Premier League table, level on points with the black cats who sit at the foot of the table.
Fans and pundits alike have been wondering whether Palace have enough to remain in the top-flight of English football after a number of poor performances this season, with more recently, the Eagles only winning one game since Allardyce took over the squad at the end of December.
Summer signing Christian Benteke has described Saturday’s defeat as ‘humiliating’ and says that the team have to show character and determination to win against Stoke.
“The chairman said we have to take responsibility and it’s not every time about the manager or about the system,” Benteke told Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
“It’s about ourselves and we have to take responsibility on the pitch and try to do our best.
“You feel humiliated when you lose 4-0 at home in a game against a rival team because of the situation.
“Now we have to move on and I think we are all angry – the players, the staff, the fans – and the only answer we can give to them is to win tomorrow.”
Sam Allardyce called the players in to the training ground on Sunday, following the defeat to Sunderland and went through what went wrong in the game and how they can address the problems with form, going forward.
The players also had their own meeting on Sunday, after looking back at the footage from the game at Selhurst Park, discussing where they go from here as they are the players on the pitch, giving the performances which they are.
“[We had a meeting first] with the manager,” he added. “We watched our first half and then [we had a meeting] just between the players.
“These kind of meetings are good because everyone can say what they feel. Sometimes I say something to another player and maybe they take it in a bad way.
“But in this kind of meeting it’s good because everyone can express themselves and say what they feel.”
The atmosphere among supporters at Selhurst Park on Saturday was that of anger and disappointment with a fan confronting Damien Delaney at half-time as well as chants from around the stadium of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt,’ after conceding three goals within the space of six first-half minutes.
Benteke says that it’s sad to see but is something that they have to put right, when asked about the supporters during the interview with Soccer Saturday, which airs on Sky Sports News HQ from 12pm.
“We are professionals,” the Belgium international continued. “We have to accept what is happening around the stadium because obviously they are frustrated and they can’t control like we can control our emotions.
“It’s sad to see that but we have to do everything we can to win and to put a better atmosphere.
“The Premier League you have to play game-by-game and I think we were maybe too relaxed after the win against Bournemouth because we didn’t win for a long time.
“I have been in this situation when I was at Aston Villa and it wasn’t easy but I think we have a great squad with a lot of experience so we can face this situation.
“We have to show character and determination to win this game tomorrow.”
