Patrick van Aanholt believes Crystal Palace are starting to feel the impact of Sam Allardyce.

Two months after Allardyce’s appointment Palace finally showed some of the organisation and resilience which his teams usually demonstrate as they beat Middlesbrough on Saturday.

And Van Aanholt – whose first-half goal secured a 1-0 victory – insists that was largely because of the effects of the hosts’ recent work.

“We trained very hard because we didn’t have a game last week and after that we got a couple of days off, because rest is also important,” he told the club website.

“We came back together, worked hard in the week and that’s paid off. We showed everyone we were up for winning the game and we did.

“We were very good (defensively). In the first half we came out and were dominant, like, ‘We’re here to win this game’. It was an unbelievable moment for me (to score).”