Crystal Palace got their just desserts by staying up — thanks partly to a pre-match apple crumble
Sam Allardyce’s side were allowed the sweet dish 24 hours before a game to boost survival bid
CRYSTAL PALACE got their just desserts by staying up — thanks partly to a pre-match apple crumble.
Sam Allardyce’s side are allowed the sweet dish 24 hours before a game.
And Palace’s head of performance says putting desserts back on the training-ground menu helped the Eagles in their fight against relegation.
Dr Ryland Morgans said: “The players thought I’d strip everything back. But there’s apple crumble and custard, bread-and-butter pudding and custard — they were surprised when I did it.
“It’s something that’s going to have a fast release of sugars which will ultimately be an energy source for them come kick-off.”
Palace sealed top-flight status with a 4-0 home win over Hull on Sunday.
Allardyce’s men also beat champions Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool as they pulled off a great escape.
Morgans, also head of performance at the Welsh FA, joined Big Sam’s staff in mid-January.
He reintroduced the desserts before beating Bournemouth on deadline day.
And it clearly pud a spring in Palace’s step because that was the first win since Allardyce’s December arrival.
Morgans added: “When the first apple crumble got rolled out it got the thumbs-up from players. The fact we won helped.
“There’s a bit of psychology but it’s also about educating the players.
“I’m not saying go out and eat a bar of chocolate because that has high fat.
“It’s not, ‘You can have a dessert every day of the week’, either — it’s a dessert because you are playing.
“I did the same with Wales and it went down well there. I think Joe Ledley told the Palace lads it was coming.”
SunSport doctor Carol Cooper said: “It’s an excellent idea from Crystal Palace. The dessert has carbohydrates which are fairly slow releasing — it also has fibre from the apple and vitamins.”