Sam Allardyce quizzed on West Brom job in Leeds United press conference today
Sam Allardyce was quizzed on his time at West Brom as he was unveiled on Wednesday as the new head coach at Leeds United.
As reported by Phil Hay on Twitter, he claimed taking the Baggies job was a bad call in a period blighted by the Covid pandemic.
Allardyce was appointed as boss at The Hawthorns in December 2020 but went on to experience the first relegation from the Premier League in his career
Leeds represents another chapter in the illustrious and colourful story of Allardyce in football management but he has his work cut out if he is to avoid a second relegation to the Championship.
Reflecting on his spell at West Brom, the 68-year-old clearly harbours a feeling of regret in what he described “was a bad decision by me”.
Missed opportunity
The veteran gaffer struggled to make a difference at the Baggies, not helped with what was a very limited squad as well as enduring a frustrating transfer window in January 2021.
A memorable 5-2 victory away to Chelsea that season ultimately counted for nothing with the eventual 19th-place finish sending the club back to the Championship with Allardyce reportedly rejecting the opportunity to retain his position.
It was a brief relationship between the one-time England boss and West Brom but the type that has carved out a reputation as a survival specialist and that is exactly what his objective is with Leeds.
He arrives at Elland Road with just four games to make an instant impression in what surely would be the greatest escape of them all for Big Sam.
It is definitely a tall order but another intriguing sub-plot in a very dramatic battle to avoid the drop involving several clubs, at the bottom of the Premier League.
In other West Brom news, it could take this player 18 months to fully recover from his latest injury blow at The Hawthorns.