View that Sunderland can handle pressure better in relegation scrap is 'rubbish', says Norwich manager

Despite protestations to the contrary from Norwich manager Alex Neil, it was hard not to agree with his opposite number Sam Allardyce that Sunderland coped better with the pressure of this tense relegation encounter at Carrow Road.

But if the Canaries are to escape what is looking an increasingly perilous position on the very edge of the relegation places, at least in veteran midfielder Gary O’Neil they have a player well versed in the vagaries and tensions of late-season drama.

Relegated and promoted at Middlesbrough and West Ham, O’Neil also had to endure the torture of watching QPR win a Wembley play-off final two years ago from the touchline having been dismissed although even the 32-year-old has to concede that the current situation in which he and Norwich find themselves is as nerve-testing as any.

“I’ve stood in the tunnel at Wembley after being sent off in a play-off final, praying that my team-mates will pull a result out of the fire, but the pressure of a relegation is a lot tougher,” said O’Neil of his Wembley experience with QPR two years ago.

“One way or another, virtually every season, wherever I play, I'm used to it going down to the wire, but these relegation battles are tough mentally and I don't seem to do mid-table comfort very often.

“You are down there because you have been losing – when you are winning and fighting for promotion, you are full of hope, but this league is ruthless.

“Although this is a terrible result, as a performance we were not horrendous at all, but as is so often the case, the first goal was crucial.

“Big Sam is big on his stats, and I remembering him telling us at West Ham that if you score first, 80 per cent of the time you don't lose in the Premier League.”

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That was certainly the case here, certainly from the moment former Liverpool full-back Andre Wisdom caught the ankle of ex-Anfield team mate Fabio Borini who struck home from the penalty spot despite Norwich claims of their defender’s innocence.

“It was a really bad tackle and Andre, who I played with before, said sorry,” said Borini. “It could have broken my ankle, it’s good I had hard bones.

“I didn’t want treatment because I wanted to take the penalty. I know the referee got stick for it but if they saw the replays they would know there was nothing to give him stick for.

“There is pressure every time you take a penalty, this was the same. It was not like away Newcastle but it was probably more important. I went up with the same focus to score.”

That Newcastle victory had been Allardyce’s crowning moment in charge of the Black Cats until this vital victory breathed new life into their survival hopes and left Norwich looking very much a team heading in the wrong direction - even if manager Neil refused to concede the point that his players could not handle the pressure of Saturday’s occasion.

“I think that’s a lot of rubbish,” he said. “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.

“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.”