Former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has noted one Black Cats man in 2015/16 that kept them in the Premier League.
The 2015/16 Premier League season for Sunderland saw Sam Allardyce take over the reigns from Dutchman Dick Advocaat in October, with the Black Cats sat 20th in the league after a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham.
With just three points in their first nine games, and the only win of the season so far coming in the EFL Cup against Exeter City, Sunderland were desperate for change, and turned towards the former Bolton manager to keep them in the Premier League.
The campaign was kickstarted in Allardyce’s second game, notching a crucial 3-0 win against Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light, but the real brilliance came in the final few fixtures, with the Black Cats notching 12 points in their last six, condemning Newcastle United to the Championship as a result.
After what turned out to be a fairytale campaign for Sunderland, former boss Allardyce has looked upon the season and the one player that contributed the most to them staying up.
Former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce praises ‘little man’ Jermain Defoe for 2015/16 heroics
At times in the 2015/16 campaign, Sunderland lacked quality, but they could always rely on striker Jermain Defoe, who joined in 2015, to pop up with goals when needed the most.
At Sunderland, Defoe notched several goals, notably bagging a hat-trick against Swansea City, and scoring in five of his last nine games of the season, including in a 3-2 home win in the penultimate game at the Stadium of Light that season.
When reminiscing on that season with Sunderland, Allardyce spoke about his January signings of Jan Kirchoff, Wahib Khazri, Lamine Kone and Steve Harper, but he also noted the impact that Defoe had on the side.
“Like I’ve said before, ‘I need your help in the January window, we’ll definitely need a couple of players’, which ended up being four,” said Allardyce.
“The quality of those players made a difference and the players that were already there, and of course, we had this little man [shows Sunderland kit with Jermain Defoe #18] who scored 18 goals in a struggling side.
“Everybody told me when I got there, [he] couldn’t play up front on his own, and I asked him why, and he said, ‘well I’ve never said that to anybody, I’ve got no problem with that’.
“So, my style of play changed, as it always does. We’ve got Jermain up front on his own, 5’8.
“Just a great moment for me and Sunderland fans, on the last home game of the season, which was Everton, we won 3-0 and the fact that we were safe, it feels like you’ve won the league, the relief is that big.
Jermain Defoe returned the praise for Sam Allardyce during his spell on Wearside
It is clear that Allardyce had a massive impact on several players at the club during his spell on Wearside, and Defoe certainly was one of them.
The former Sunderland boss was up for the England job after his heroics in keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League, and Defoe certainly believed that he was fit for the top job in the country.
Back in 2016, when asked about Allardyce’s link to the England job, per BBC 5 Live, Defoe said:”Last season he said to us, ‘do you know what? I don’t care how we play, as long as we win’.
“Obviously I hope he stays at Sunderland. Maybe he could do both (jobs)?”