Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that he is "frustrated" with his players for not yet 'grasping' his methods.
The 62-year-old has a vast wealth of experience in the top flight and holds the accolade of never being relegated from the Premier League, keeping up teams such as Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers in a managerial career spanning more than 22 years.
Allardyce has thus far struggled to have the same galvanising effect at Selhurst Park, however, and since he took over at Christmas the club have dropped into the relegation zone with just one win in eight games.
"The advice I've given [players] over the years must have been pretty good because I've been managing at this level for such a long time now," Allardyce told reporters this afternoon. "So my experience comes from talking to the players at this top level for many, many years, and being able to produce a team that wins football matches and finishes where they should, or better than where they should in terms of what we spend and the players we have. I'm trying to pass that experience on to the players. I'm a little frustrated that they haven't quite grasped that yet.
"My experience and my qualifications are far greater than theirs. They can talk about tactics and systems, that's fine, but they're players are they're paid to play. I'm the manager, and the system and tactics are my expertise, not theirs. When I set those out, they have to put them into practice. Stay focused, stay within the game plan.
"I keep asking the players to listen, to learn, and go out and practise in training and take that practice on to the pitch on the Saturday. Where I am struggling at the moment is the players keeping the message and staying with the game plan. If they do that, they'll have a better chance of a result. But the loss of focus has been a problem because we've gone chasing games when we've gone a goal down. Instead of playing our way back into the match, we've opened ourselves up more. They've chosen the wrong tactic and made it easier to score against them than before. We have to cut that out."
Next up for Palace is a crucial encounter with fellow strugglers Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Neil Wilkes
