David Moyes insists Sunderland’s emphatic 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Crystal Palace must be the foundation for their climb away from the foot of the table. As delighted as he was by the manner of Saturday’s victory, Moyes knows Sunderland cannot afford to keep lurching from good results to poor ones if they are to stay in the Premier League. This win, secured by first-half goals from Lamine Kone, Didier N’Dong and two from Jermain Defoe, added to the momentum gained by the encouraging midweek home draw against Tottenham.
Sunderland remain bottom but they are now level on points with Palace and only two points from safety. “It’s vital we build on this. We had a good run at the start of the season when we won four games in a row and it gave us a real lift,” Moyes said.
“I feel we need to do something similar in the second half of the season and hope that this is the start of it. We were resilient against Tottenham but I don’t think we played well. Today we played well.
“I’m confident that we have a really good chance to stay up. We are in fighting with a few teams. You don’t know who you can pull into it. We will probably have to win the odd really big game against one of the big teams. But I believe we can do it, I really do.
“You can imagine that getting beaten all the time as a manager affects you. So it’s good when you win — and in a difficult game for us. I thought we did a really good job. We scored goals at the right moments.”
Moyes paid tribute to former England star Defoe, who took his season’s tally to 14. “Predator is probably the word that has been used many times in relation to Jermain,” he said.
“I thought we had to provide more opportunities for him, but I want us to pass the ball better and get it to him at the right time, not just any time. He is always on the edge and always able to pull something out. And we need him because his goals are so crucial to us.”
For Palace manager Sam Allardyce, the future is about making sure his players are not scared going forward from this defeat.
“It was all about fear from the players when the first goal went in. Fear overtook them and they lost control. And you have to keep control mentally in this game, particularly when you go a goal down,” Allardyce said.
“Once fear takes over, the mind gets confused and we saw the players doing a lot of stuff we didn’t envisage or want them doing. The frailty showed in their defending in the first half and the four goals that were scored. It’s apparent for me that the players are struggling in their home form. I’ve got to get rid of that fear, turn it into a positive and get them playing much, much better than they are now.
“I think we’re bottom of the league in home points gained and ninth in the league from points gained away from home. We have to overcome the fears we have playing here.
“The fans don’t place them under a huge amount of pressure compared to other clubs I’ve managed. They want to support and get behind them. I apologise to them for coming and seeing what they saw in that first half.”

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