Sam Allardyce has enhanced his reputation as a great manager after helping Sunderland avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth.
The former Bolton, Newcastle, and West Ham manager was appointed as the new boss of Sunderland with some scepticism from fans about the style of football. At his previous clubs, Allardyce was not known to play attractive football but he has always secured results for the club. He was responsible for getting clubs like West Ham out of trouble in crucial circumstances. Sunderland were clearly going for the tried and trusted option rather than the flamboyant.
Newcastle United, on the other hand, went in for the flamboyant Rafa Benitez, who has won the Champions League and has managed clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool. However, he failed when it came to the relegation battle after the club were unable to get the results to keep them in the Premier league. Sunderland have had a habit of avoiding the drop at the last moment and they did it once again in the 2015-16 campaign. Allardyce has taken this opportunity to remind fans that his man management skills were key towards the club achieving safety. It remains to be seen if Allardyce’s quality will now be appreciated by supporters.
Allardyce, though, will not want to be involved in another year of relegation struggle.“I have managed them, man-management is the biggest part of the job today. It’s your guidance and determination, your belief, your desire to achieve certain goals and to set out those goals to the staff behind the scenes and then to players.It’s been a long road.If you manage your staff and your players, make tough decisions, you hope you earn the respect you have in the stadium. I try to make the atmosphere warm and inviting,” said Allardyce.