The Swansea City midfielder says that coming face to face with the likes of Savage is always a big challenge but one that he is looking forward to when they line up this afternoon.<\/p>\n
Allen told the Western Mail I\u2019ve played against him twice now<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game\u00a0at Derby last year especially was an experience for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left his foot in a couple of times, but you expect that and he\u2019s still a player you enjoy testing yourself against.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the type of player he is, you know it\u2019s going to be tough and it\u2019s a battle. But you look forward to those challenges as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s nothing malicious with him \u2013 he\u2019s great off the pitch, you just know you\u2019re in for a tough afternoon on it.<\/p>\n
We spoke briefly after that Wales game against Scotland<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was great,\u201d Allen said. \u201cHe told me he thought I did well when I came on and that\u2019s really nice to hear because, whatever people think of him, he\u2019s a player who\u2019s been there and done it. He\u2019s been at the top level, played international and Premier League\u00a0football\u00a0for years and been around the game a long time. So he\u2019s someone you should respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t have to go out of his way like that and perhaps that\u2019s a side people don\u2019t see.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try not to get hung up on the fact we probably should have got four more points from the last two games,\u201d said Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t do you any favours thinking along those lines because it can affect what you\u2019re trying to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important for us to get a win to put all that behind us, but it\u2019s always important for us to get a win.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it won\u2019t mean we\u2019ll be going gung-ho for the points. We just have to play the same way we have this year and have faith that our quality will win us the match.\u201d<\/p>\n