Stoke boss Paul Lambert talks up Joe Allen’s importance in relegation battle

Paul Lambert has talked up the importance of Joe Allen to Stoke’s fight against Premier League relegation ahead of Sunday’s trip to Arsenal.

The Wales midfielder has started all but three of Stoke’s games this season including all eight under Lambert, and the Scot could not have been more impressed.

Lambert was relieved Allen came through a trip to China with Wales unscathed and has no doubt the 28-year-old will step up to the mark over the Potters’ final seven games of the season.

“He goes under the radar, and the reason he goes under the radar is he’s that good,” said the Stoke boss. “When a player has one great game in nine, everybody talks about them, but he’s that consistent that it’s the norm.

“He’s that normal guy and he’s a normal pro and he’s been at a huge club in Liverpool and done great at Swansea and come here and he’s been excellent. His value to this club is huge, he’s absolutely vital for us.

“Obviously he had a long flight to China. It wouldn’t surprise me if Joe Allen ran back from China and was still as fit as a fiddle. He’s really brilliant.”

Stoke need Allen to be at his best as they try to claw back the three-point gap to safety, with history emphatically not on their side at the Emirates Stadium, where they have lost on all nine previous visits.

Lambert knows a thing or two about playing in midfield but does not offer too many words of wisdom to Allen.

The former Aston Villa and Wolves boss said: “I think his professional level is incredibly high.

“I never judge my own career by somebody else’s because I played at unbelievable massive football clubs with huge, huge pressure. He’s done the same in that aspect. Even for Wales I think he’s been brilliant.

“He’s one of those lads a million per cent you can trust and you know exactly what you’re going to get. He covers the ground, his stats are incredible. I think him and (Badou) Ndiaye are getting a right little partnership, the two of them are playing really well.

“The biggest compliment I can give Joe is I expect it from him, I expect him to turn in these sorts of performances, I don’t really say anything to him. He’s a manager’s dream.”