Sam Allardyce has said “the fear of relegation” should motivate his Leeds United players to “fight hard” in their bid to avoid dropping out of the Premier League.
In his first game in charge last week, Allardyce saw his new team lose 2-1 at title-chasing Manchester City and, after relegation rivals Everton and Nottingham Forest both picked up victories on Monday, Leeds find themselves second bottom of the table, two points from safety.
Allardyce – who became Leeds' third manager of the season after both Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia were sacked during a disastrous campaign – now has three games left to prevent the dropping down to the second tier.
“What I am hoping for is good mental resilience that allows them to perform at their highest quality,” said Allardyce, who takes on former club Newcastle at Elland Road on Saturday, before facing West Ham United away and then Tottenham Hotspur at home on the final day of the season.
“The fear needs to drive them on. The fear of relegation, the fear of losing their Premier League status, which should make them hopefully fight, and fight hard for their status and their position at Leeds United. But I am very pleased with the attitude of the players.
“We have got nine points to go for. We know if we get nine points, which is a massive ask, we will stay up. If we get six we might do, or maybe if we get five.
“I don't know, but at this moment in time, I want to be still in it when we play Tottenham [in the final game of the season on 28 May]. That's what I want. I would be very satisfied if, when we play Tottenham, we are still in it.
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“I have said it to the players – we can't afford to lose on Saturday.”
Next up for Leeds will the high-flying Magpies, who are third in the table and looking to secure Champions League football next season for the first time since 2004.
“Newcastle have got some talented players on the front three, with more to come on,” said Allardyce, who has also managed Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Bromwich Albion in the English top-flight.
“They have a big goalscorer in Callum Wilson, which we have to manage, but then at the other end you can get in behind them and down the side of Newcastle if you can break through their midfield.
“It depends on our quality when we get to the final third and what we decide to do with that final ball.
“Hopefully, we can have something to go forward with because I would like us to score the first goal if we can, that is very important. Getting the first goal would be a big lift.
“I'm not saying we would win but to go a goal down would be a very difficult job, mentally, for the players to come back from.”
Allardyce's spell on Tyneside was a short one after the club was sold to British businessman Mike Ashley soon after his appointment with the new owner replacing him with local hero Kevin Keegan eight months later.
“It's a long time ago, 2007. Was I disappointed? Yes. What did it do to my career? A massive knock-back, but I always recover and move on,” Allardyce said of his reign that lasted from May 2007 to January 2008.
“In the end, I couldn't avoid a change of ownership, which was unexpected. I have no criticism of Mike Ashley, it was his club and he wanted to do what he wanted to do with it at that time.
“For me, it was a blow to my career at that time because I wanted to take Newcastle as far as I possibly could, like it is doing now. That was the ambition for me and [former chairman] Freddy Shepherd at the time, but it wasn't meant to be.”
