Sunderland go into the weekend a point behind fourth-bottom Newcastle with a game in hand, in the relegation dog fight, praising the efforts of new signing Jan Kirchhoff, who was today named the PFA Fans Player of the month.
The big German midfielder just pipped Andros Townsend in a very close vote, and Sam Allardyce would like nothing better than to go one big leap better and pip Newcastle to Premier League safety.
The Sunderland manager broke off from his preparations for the massive game against Chelsea to recognise, as indeed the fans have done, the influence of Kirchhoff.
Big Sam discussed his big midfield influencer when he said about the PFA fans award in an exclusive interview when he said: “I’m delighted for Jan. He has settled in to life at Sunderland extremely well and adapted to the Premier League very quickly. His performances have certainly merited the award and it’s well deserved."
The player himself recognised the importance of a vote taken by the fans themselves, as he won the vote for the month of April where Daniel Sturridge came third not far behind both Kirchhoff and Townsend.
He said: "I would like to thank the supporters, who have been unbelievable since I arrived at Sunderland - they are simply amazing. Also my thanks go to my team-mates, without them it would not have been possible to win this award. This is a very special football club and I am honoured to accept the award on behalf of everyone."
PREMIER LEAGUE
1st - Jan Kirchhoff (Sunderland)
2nd - Andros Townsend (Newcastle United)
3rd - Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
CHAMPIONSHIP
1st - Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday)
2nd - Chris Wood (Leeds United)
3rd - Greg Halford (Rotherham United)
LEAGUE ONE
1st - JJ Hooper (Port Vale)
2nd - Steve Morison (Millwall)
3rd - Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic)
LEAGUE TWO
1st – Danny Hylton (Oxford United)
2nd - Tarique Fosu-Henry (Accrington Stanley)
3rd - Matt Taylor (Bristol Rovers)
Source: DSG
