Allardyce admits enjoying the challenge of managing West Brom
Sam Allardyce has admitted that he is enjoying his time at West Brom, in spite of the club’s potential relegation from the Premier League.
He said that being inactive in lockdown was a particular frustration form him and that he relished the challenge that came with the West Brom job.
The former England boss has never been relegated during his career as a manager, though Albion could prove to break that streak, with the club currently sitting eight points from safety with ten games left to play
Allardyce replaced Slaven Bilic at The Hawthorns in mid December, and though his side have improved defensively they still have some way to go.
The Baggies are set to face Crystal Palace later this afternoon, and speaking prior to the game [Express & Star] Allardyce revealed that he is enjoying his spell in the Midlands.
Allardyce said: “You don’t come into a football club and not enjoy yourself. There are times when it is extremely difficult because of the responsibilities but that falls on every manager.
“But I have had huge amounts of experience in these situations to know that yes, I will be down and worry about the team and not sleep as much as I would like but overall, that is part of the job and one of the beauties of it.
“I have always liked a challenge, facing up to it and meeting it head on.
“What was the alternative? It was particularly frustrating for me being so inactive because of lockdown. I thought this opportunity was a great way to enjoy working with young people on a day-to-day basis with the challenges it brings.
“Hopefully now we can bring more results to West Brom.”
If only that could lead to results…
We’re glad that Sam is enjoying his role at The Hawthorns, really we are, but if he could somehow coax a few more points out of that enjoyment we’d very much enjoy that too.
Albion’s potential relegation had appeared to be a foregone conclusion for some time now, though the recent form of both Brighton and Newcastle have given the club renewed hope.
Granted it still seems like the chances of survival this season are slim, but at the very least there does appear to be some sort of opportunity that we could exploit, if only we could grab a win here or there.
Newcastle last weekend was a huge missed opportunity, with a draw against the Magpies just not enough at this stage of the season.
We now face Crystal Palace and that has to be a game that represents an opportunity to put points on the board. The Eagles are winless in three, so they’re hardly firing on all cylinders at the moment.
West Brom need to step it up, and they need to do so fast if we still harbour any hopes of survival this season.
In other West Brom news, Albion have beaten Stoke to sign young defender Kevin Joshua from Soihull United.