LONDON • David Moyes insists Sunderland's emphatic 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Crystal Palace must be the foundation for their climb away from the foot of the table.
As delighted as he was by the manner of Saturday's victory, he knows Sunderland cannot afford to keep lurching from good results to poor ones if they are to stay in the Premier League.
The win, secured by first-half goals from Lamine Kone, Didier N'Dong and a brace from Jermain Defoe, added to the momentum gained by the encouraging midweek home draw against Tottenham. Sunderland remain bottom but they are now level on points with Palace and only two points from safety.
"It's vital we build on this. We had a good run at the start of the season when we won four games in a row and it gave us a real lift," he said. "I feel we need to do something similar in the second half of the season and hope that this is the start of it."
For Palace manager Sam Allardyce, the future is about making sure his players are not scarred moving forward.
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Sunderland's Jack Rodwell won a Premier League game as a starter for the first time in 1,370 days.
"It was all about fear from the players when the first goal went in. Fear overtook them and they lost control," he said.
"It's apparent for me that the players are struggling in their home form. I've got to get rid of that fear, turn it into a positive and get them playing much, much better than they are now."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
