Sam Allardyce has insisted that Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal 'will not define' Crystal Palace's campaign, as he prepares his side for their crucial relegation showdown with Swansea City.
The Eagles are winless in their last five outings - two of which have come under the guidance of new boss Allardyce - and are just one place and two points above the Premier League drop-zone.
Allardyce is not concerned by Palace's defeat in North London, however, and instead acknowledges that the visit of Swansea on Tuesday evening will go a long way to determining just how much trouble his side are currently in.
"We've got a big game, bigger than this game, on Tuesday night," he told Sky Sports News. "Our season won't be defined by results against the top six.
"What we do when we play the teams in the bottom half of the league will be the defining reason of whether or not we get out of the bottom half. Nothing turns around quick this time of the year.
"If we are going to be really good it will probably be March before we can pull away; if we struggle it will probably go to the very end. If we are going to get out of trouble now we need four or five wins on the trot. I have every confidence in the players that it will turn around and hopefully as quick as possible."
Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 20 Premier League away games, stretching back to a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth in December 2015.
Daniel Lewis
