Sunderland's Allardyce says Fletcher's Marseille loan came to prevent moping

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce says he loaned out striker Steven Fletcher to Marseille partly as a preventative measure to keep morale in the locker room high, with playing time scarce due to an abundance of options up top.

The Black Cats currently face relegation, sitting 19th in the Premier League table with 14 games remaining in the season. Fletcher, a veteran within the team's ranks, was deemed excess to Allardyce down this rough final stretch.

"It was a big decision made by both of us but in the end Steven wasn't happy not to have played and I didn't feel he was going to get back in," Allardyce told reporters. "So on that basis I didn't want him hanging around, moping and feeling sorry for himself."

Having scored four goals in 16 games for Sunderland this year, Fletcher wasn't necessarily in poor form, but Allardyce says the pecking order was ultimately unkind to the Scottish forward.

"I took the decision on the fact we've got Dame N'Doye, Jermain Defoe, young Duncan Watmore, and Wahbi Khazri," Allardyce explained. "They can all play on the frontline, so I think I've got plenty of options there."