SAM Allardyce, who has spent the week on the wrong end of a torrent of criticism from soccer pundits and the media for fielding understrength teams in the FA Cup, will be looking for his policy of resting top players to pay off with a result at The Valley.

With one defeat in the last five games his side is proving hard to beat and he will send his team out with orders to at least avoid defeat as they bid to stay out of the bottom three.

Without a goal scored in their last three Premiership games, however, A llardyce has no doubt about the big shortcoming of his team.

"That's my real problem at the moment," he said. "We need our front players to start scoring goals.

"If we could find that one player, like Euell at Charlton, to get into double figures we would be moving up towards mid table."