New Leeds United boss Sam Allardyce has claimed that he is as good as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta and firmly believes nobody in football is ‘ahead of him’
What’s the news?
Big Sam has been appointed as the new manager of Leeds this week and on Wednesday he gave his first press conference. The Yorkshire club decided to sack Spanish coach Javi Gracia after a series of poor results that have led to Leeds dropping down the table. The club is now fighting against relegation and have appointed Allardyce to stay in the Premier League. At his first press conference, Allardyce was very confident about Leeds’ chances and his own qualities as a manager.
What did Allardyce say?
“I might be 68 and look old and antiquated but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms. Not Pep, not Klopp, not Arteta. It’s all there with me. They do what they do and I do what I do. In terms of knowledge, I am not saying I’m better than them but I’m certainly as good as they are.”
He then went on and said that people have called him ‘mad’ for joining Leeds at this stage of the season. “It was a shock because this time of the season and there are many managers who had changed hands, the most in the history of the Premier League, I thought it was all over for this season.
“It was only a couple of minutes before I said yes. Because of the situation, I had to rush through the process quickly so I could be here for at least a reasonable lead into Manchester City. I’ve had a lot of response from many people saying congratulations. A few said I must be mad but I enjoy the game so much. To try and save this club and keep it in the Premier League is a big responsibility but one I want to take because of who Leeds are.”
More on Leeds’ final weeks
The club has lost five of their last seven games, including 5-1 and 6-1 defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool last month. Allardyce’s first game will be against Manchester City, before his former club Newcastle United will be coming to Elland Road. After that they will face West Ham United, another club of Allardyce, before they will finish the season away at Tottenham Hotspur.
