Sam Allardyce held his Crystal Palace players back for 40 minutes after they lost to bottom of the table Swansea City on Tuesday night.

The Welsh side hadn’t claimed an away victory in the league since their 1-0 win against Burnley on the opening day of the season, but are now just one point behind the Eagles, who are in 17th.

And after his side fell to that late defeat, newly-appointed Allardyce demanded answers from the Palace players, according to The Sun.

Publicly, the former West Ham United manager remained defensive over his players, claiming that the reason for his team’s bad form lies in the packed Christmas fixture list.

The Crystal Palace boss also called for the person who devises this list to be sacked after his side lost 2-0 to Arsenal, saying that he had to substitute some key players to make sure they were ready for the crucial six-pointer against Swansea.

Speaking on Sunday, prior to the defeat, Allardyce said: “We’ve been dealt the blow of not having enough recovery time between now and Tuesday night, why can’t we play Wednesday?

“I don’t know who does the fixtures but he needs sacking really.

Despite the public positivity, Allardyce has privately blasted his players in an attempt to better their performances as they try to escape the drop.

Damien Delaney, captain for Palace on Tuesday night in place of the absent Scott Dann confessed: “It is the first time in five seasons I have been here that the fans have turned like that. They were within their rights to complain and if anyone thought they were not in a scrap, they know now.”