Sunderland vs Chelsea FC - Allardyce hoping meditation helps Sunderland avoid relegation

Posted Saturday, May 07, 2016 by PA

Sam Allardyce is confident he will keep his cool as the fight for Barclays Premier League survival comes to a head - thanks to transcendental meditation.

The 61-year-old Sunderland manager is renowned for belief in the benefits of sports science in football, but he has revealed that he also regularly uses the relaxation technique, to which he in part attributes his longevity in the game.

Allardyce, who is attempting to steer the Black Cats out of relegation trouble with just three games remaining, said: "I do transcendental meditation and I have done for 12, 14 years now. It's very relaxing, very calming and you can do it anywhere.

"It helps you cope with the pressure you come under in this job. When it was brought for the players by us at Bolton in about 2003-04, I was always one of those guys that says, 'try it yourself'.

"You have a better understanding then if you try it yourself and if the players talk about it and say, 'well, that's a load of rubbish, you can say, 'well, actually I use it and I don't find it to be like that, so you must be a bit of a non-believer'.

"But I read the science on transcendental meditation and if you read the science, it gives you a better insight into how it helps you reduce your blood pressure and keeps you calmer and how easy it is to carry out.

"Fifteen minutes, half an hour - you don't have to be going into a quiet room with music on or anything like that, you can be anywhere at any time finding a relatively quiet place and do 15, 20, 25 minutes and it refreshes you and makes you feel good to push on.

"But it has helped me cope with the pressure of management. That's why I am still doing it today, probably."

Allardyce has only one injury doubt as he prepares for Saturday's clash with Chelsea.

Full-back Billy Jones has been hampered by a hip problem this week and could miss out, although he has not started a game since the beginning of February.

Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois will be available following his two-match suspension.

Courtois could displace Asmir Begovic in goal, but Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink is not planning wholesale changes to honour the integrity of the competition, as Sunderland battle to avoid relegation.

Striker Loic Remy (groin) and defender Kurt Zouma (knee) are out.

Chelsea have had a say in the title race and will approach their clash at relegation-threatened Sunderland on Saturday with the same level of professionalism, says Hiddink.

Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Monday ended Spurs Premier League title hopes and saw Leicester crowned the Blues' successors as champions.

And Sunderland are in desperate need of points to avoid the drop.

"We are going into the last three games with the same attitude," said Hiddink, whose side also play at Liverpool and at home to Leicester.

"(Sunderland) have to win and we want to win. It's the same situation as against Spurs. We give them as much resistance as we have.

"All the teams still fighting to avoid relegation deserve the same approach in our seriousness. No guarantee that we can win, but we go for a win of course."