Sam Allardyce 'talking rubbish' as Sunderland show they can handle the pressure

The Canaries remain a point clear of the Black Cats in the battle to beat the drop despite a comprehensive 3-0 win at Carrow Road for Allardyce and his men to celebrate.

But the manner in which Sunderland emerged with three points from Norfolk has heartened the boss and he is hopeful the result will breed confidence ahead of the final five matches of the season.

Sunderland remain in the bottom three but they can climb out if they avoid defeat when Arsenal travel to the Stadium of Light on Sunday, which will be the game in hand they have over Norwich.

Tempers flare on the touchline after a robust challenge on Sunderland's DeAndre Yedlin

Allardyce said: “We handled the pressure better than Norwich. There was huge, enormous amount of pressure on both teams. That did not bode well for an actual game of football and passing. It was scrappy at times, but sometimes you have to dig it out.

“Our front three have scored a goal each, which very important for us. But as I said to the players before the game, if we got a clean sheet, we have enough goals in our team to win this game and we won it handsomely.”

But Neil, who was left frustrated by a defeat which has raised hope for both Sunderland and Newcastle, completely disagreed with his more experienced counterpart.

The Norwich manager said: “I think that’s a lot of rubbish. I think they got a penalty against the run of play which they scored, then they got a breakaway goal arguably after a free kick or arguably after we should've moved the ball a bit quicker.

“That was the difference in the game for me. I don't think Sunderland looked more threatening than us. We had more opportunities, we had 14 corners, they had zero. We had more of the ball.

“Everything you want to talk about when you talk about football I thought we were dominant. The bottom line is, the most important thing is winning the game and we didn't win the game. If he deems that to be handling the pressure better then I’m not sure I agree with it.”

Sunderland edged ahead four minutes before half-time when Fabio Borini curled in the opener from the penalty spot after he had been fouled by Andre Wisdom in the area. Jermain Defoe added the second seven minutes after the break and Duncan Watmore completed the win in stoppage-time.

The goals secured a vital three points, although it was the way the team laid the foundations for the win – with Lee Cattermole instrumental in the middle - which was impressive at a time when Sunderland needed to deliver.

Allardyce, referring to the club’s previous successful relegation battles, said: “I spoke to Lee Cattermole a few times. He said players have performed better at that stage, the best they have performed all season at that stage to get out of trouble.

“They have given that little bit more, had a bit more quality, and had a bit more luck. Cattermole said that has gone our way on occasions to help us out. With a result like this, it can spur us on to more victories to make sure we are the ones that get out of trouble.”

Allardyce also admitted he was very close to tinkering with the system that has seen his side win just one of their previous 11 matches, only to change his mind at the last minute before the trip to Norwich.

“I did, yes, I tried a couple of systems in the week but I didn’t like the look of them and I didn’t like the feel,” he said. “We met as a staff and said I suppose in the end the lads have played really well recently without the results, so let’s go with it again. In the end, it was the right decision.”

He did have to replace £9m winger Wahbi Khazri at half-time because he had struggled to keep up with the pace of such a decisive encounter. Watmore’s introduction at that point after a two-month lay-off with ankle ligament damage gave Sunderland an extra edge.

Allardyce said: “Wahbi was not functioning as well as he has. We have got the Road Runner (Watmore) back and with his energy and ability, you could see what trouble he caused them.

“He had so many chances before the one he scored – I am so glad he scored, or to make the right pass to Jermain, it would have been frustrating for him. But he was calm, composed, round the keeper and in the net.

“Khazri didn’t quite go to the level we know he can and we have people on the bench who can come and did a little better. Hopefully Duncan can now play a big part between now and the end of the season.”