Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has urged his players not to buckle under pressure when they host his former club Sunderland in a relegation six pointer on Saturday.

"I just need the players to handle the pressure, because it is massive pressure on us," Allardyce said. "We will be - particularly from our fans - expected to win.

"We had that sort of expectation against Swansea just a few weeks ago. There were different circumstances why we lost that game then, but it is the same pressure we have to deal with and produce a performance.

"For the players it's making sure they focus like they did on Tuesday night, with the level of performance they gave. Hopefully that'd be enough to win. I would hate to see the type of performance we gave against Swansea."

The 62-year-old faces Sunderland for the first time since leaving for the England job and is unsure of the reception he will receive.

"I don't know if some of them are still disappointed I left," admitted Allardyce. "Some are still really appreciative of what happened in my short period there.

"In the end they all knew that there was no way on earth that I could turn the England coach's position down. I'm sure they'll be reasonably okay."