Sam Allardyce has dig at Newcastle's 'negative tactics' after Everton win

A goal from Theo Walcott gave Allardyce's side a 1-0 win at Goodison Park last night.

Allardyce, under pressure from Everton supporters, had found an unlikely ally in Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, his old foe, before the game over a survey which asked fans to rate his performance.

Benitez labelled the exercise as a "massive mistake".

Everton manager Allardyce, however, put the boot into Benitez's "negative tactics" after the match.

Allardyce said: “What was wrong with our style? We completely dominated the game.

“We were patient, we got the winner. You can’t knock our football. You can knock some of the passing that goes astray, but you can’t knock me for that. I don’t pass the ball.

“When does every fan like the manager? I will keep doing what I’m doing, because we keep winning and keep getting better.

“I think eighth in the league compared to fifth-from-bottom tells you we’re getting better.

“I think up to 75 minutes we were excellent, and then we had to do too much desperate defending to secure the victory we deserved.

“But we broke down a very stubborn Newcastle defensive unit with all 11 players in their own half, trying to suck you in and hit you on the break. It was difficult to break down their negative tactics, but we found a way to do it.

“Theo’s scored his third goal since he arrived and it was the winner, so I’m very pleased for him, very pleased for the team and a 1-0 victory.”

Newcastle are 10th in the table and four points behind eighth-placed Everton with four games left to play.