Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has urged his players to "keep battling on and believing" after they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Stoke City this afternoon.

A goal from Joe Allen was all that separated the two sides as the Eagles failed to respond positively to their 4-0 mauling at the hands of Sunderland last weekend.

"I'm disappointed for the lads. They had many moments in the game when we were in control and none more so than when Stoke scored," Allardyce told reporters afterwards. "They scored their only shot on target in the second half. It's a 1-0 defeat again and not the point that we deserve at least.

"We have to keep battling on and believing. These are an honest bunch of players. Last week was a fluke, we conceded three goals in three minutes.

"Today the overall performance was there but the result wasn't. It's a results business and we need them fast. I have got four new players and two weeks before our next game so it's a lot of work coming up.

"It's not been the results I expected. I thought it would have been easier for me to get the players to understand certain things. We all need to take more responsibility but we have to keep our chins up and graft away."

Next up for Palace is a home encounter with fellow strugglers Middlesbrough in a fortnight.