Allardyce: Playing one-up was wrong
He’s reported in London24.com as saying: “I think there is no doubt about it and we won’t pull the wool over anybody’s eyes – certainly in the first half we were second best.
“In the end it was all about changing the system and the way we played and getting the subs on.
“Losing Winston Reid to a thigh injury we couldn’t help, but the other two subs were tactical and they helped us change the shape of the team, get Stewart Downing in the hole and get two up top.
He added: : “We changed it and if it’s not going well it’s my job to use the experience I have got and change it.
“I decided to throw caution to the wind with two up front and see whether Stoke could cope with it.
“If they couldn’t, we’d get back into the game and that’s exactly what happened.”