Sam Allardyce already faces a battle to win over everyone inside Crystal Palace.

The Daily Express says Allardyce faces a battle off the field as well as on it when he takes his new Crystal Palace side into a hornets nest at Watford on Boxing Day.

Fears of a boardroom split over his appointment - and the sacking of Alan Pardew - are mounting as the American investors who ordered both moves came under increasing fire.

Chairman Steve Parish is understood to have somewhat reluctantly bowed to pressure from David Blitzer and Josh Harris to axe Alan Pardew, despite his previous loyalty the 55-year-old.

And he has now admitted he is also facing the heat, saying: "We are all under pressure. You can't lift that pressure from people - that is no more constructive than putting it on them."

Reservations from fellow major club backers Stephen Bowett, Jeremy Hosking and Martin Long - and a large number of Palace fans as well - threaten to pull the rug from under Allardyce before he has even started.