The Black Cats did everything but score as they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Brom at the Stadium of Light on a day when their failure to find the back of the net proved costly with Norwich's victory over Newcastle casting them four points adrift of safety with just seven games remaining.
A first clean sheet in 18 attempts in all competitions provided Allardyce with some consolation, but he knows time is running out fast with Barclays Premier League leaders Leicester due on Wearside next weekend.
He said: "I think I need to go back to church and start praying or something like that. I'm not quite sure what I need to do because I can't ever imagine in my long career dominating a game for so long, creating so many chances and actually not winning it.
"It's a cruel blow on the basis of the position we are in and the such desperate need that we are in for points, and tomorrow when we wake up with will feel so much more dejected on the basis yes, we played outstandingly well, yes, it was the best performance I've had since I've been here, but it was only one point again and not three and Norwich get that little bit further away from us.
"Pressure ever mounts. We look very good at dealing with the pressure at the moment, so I just hope we can carry on doing that and I hope we can turn great performances into victories very shortly. I believe we can."