SAM Allardyce had a pop at Michael Ricketts after Saturday's victory over Manchester City...and the statistics back him up.

The Reebok Stadium boss pointed to the sale of his former number one striker as the turning point in Wanderers' season.

In seven games since Ricketts' departure Wanderers have put together a brilliant run of four wins, two draws and one defeat.

And the point was not lost on Allardyce who followed up Saturday's win by saying: "The reason we are where we are now is that since we sold Michael Ricketts we have won four, drawn two and lost only one game. That speaks for itself."

Now Opta Index, the bible of football statistics, add support to the belief that selling Ricketts is a gamble which has paid off.

They confirm Wanderers are a much more potent attacking force without the Middlesbrough man, showing they have managed 1.57 goals per game since he left compared with a goal a game when he played.

Before he left it took Wanderers 25 matches to win four games and only Manchester United, Middlesbrough - for whom Ricketts has failed to score in six appearances - Blackburn and Arsenal have managed a better points return since February 1.