Crystal Palace: Sam Allardyce hails Middlesbrough result as 'biggest win'

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce said his side registered their "biggest win" of the season as they beat Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Palace's 1-0 win - their third home victory this season - saw them move out of the Premier League relegation zone.

It was Allardyce's second win in nine top-flight games since taking over as manager in December.

"The three points are important as it puts us in among the pack and out of the bottom three," Allardyce, said.

"It's a great victory. I think the two-week break helped us refocus and that showed - they made a lot of very good decisions.

"I see the bottom seven as the Premier League table we need to try and win. There's never been a bigger win than this all season."

The win was Allardyce's first home victory in the Premier League since he joined the club and saw his side move up to 17th in the league.

The 62-year-old, who has never been relegated from the top flight, praised the support from the home crowd.

"Selhurst Park was rocking today. It felt like they really enjoyed the commitment from the players and really got behind us," he said.

"If we can achieve more then that would be great but we need to make next week's game against West Brom a game to win."

Former England striker Alan Shearer on Match of the Day

"It was a performance that deserved three points. Other than the 10 minutes after half-time I thought they were the much better team throughout.

"They understood what each other's roles were, how they were going to play the game. They just did not hesitate at all to get balls into the box. They knew, I think, that they had to do that.

"That was their first thought - can we hit the big man, even if there's no bodies around him? Second half, that didn't change either. They thoroughly deserved the three points today and it was three massive points for them."

Former striker Jason Roberts, who played under Sam Allardyce at Blackburn, on Final Score

"It wasn't a typical Sam Allardyce performance in that they closed down from the front and it required a lot of work rate. They struggled to keep it up in the second half.

"But you saw that Sam Allardyce resilience in the side and that defensive solidity - they didn't give away too many chances. In the end it looked like a regulation win but it meant so much. You could see Sam on the sideline getting emotional and getting the crowd with him."