Fletcher heaps praise on Allardyce

Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher has hailed the influence of new manager Sam Allardyce after their first victory of the Premier League season.

The Black Cats defeated derby rivals Newcastle United 3-0 at Britannia Stadium on Sunday, and Fletcher is optimistic that Big Sam can guide them out of the relegation places.

"The boys have got a lot of confidence now with the new manager coming in," the Scotland international said."Sam Allardyce is a big man with a big presence.

"When he walks in the room everyone shuts up and listens to him. So that's a good start. He's a lot more organised. He is probably the most organised manager I have worked with.

"He demands a lot from everyone but he works hard on the training pitch as well, which is good too. We need to grow on this now and take it into the next few games.

"The gaffer has got us organised and is trying to make us hard to beat. We need to stop leaking goals and we need to score more. We did that against Newcastle. We hope it can kickstart our season."