Ha'way The Lads

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Allardyce in for the long haul (October 14th 2015)

I hope the Mackems enjoy the journey https://youtu.be/AESsB4Rk9Mo

Sam Allardyce has vowed to stay longer at Sunderland than he did with arch-rivals Newcastle as he begins his mission to drag the club out of trouble.


The 60-year-old was sacked after just eight months at St James' Park in January 2008 when then new owner Mike Ashley decided the man he had inherited from former chairman Freddy Shepherd was not the right one for the job.

However, Allardyce, who also had brief spells as a player and then as a coach under Peter Reid on Wearside, is determined to hang around this time.

He said: "Well, I want to be more successful than I have been in the past, that's for sure, and I want to stay a bit longer!

"I didn't stay very long as a player, I didn't stay very long with Reidy because I got the Notts County job and I didn't stay very long at Newcastle, so I hope I stay a lot longer than that."

Allardyce rebuilt his career at Blackburn and then West Ham after his bruising experience on Tyneside, but he insists that the way he was treated by the Magpies, who will provide the opposition in his second game at the helm, no longer hurts.

He said: "No, no. Newcastle is in the past, it's all over. I'm a man for the future, not to dwell on the past. It happened.

"Like I said at the time, I thought it was the right club at the wrong time for me and that was it. It was a decision made and you move forward.

"Since then, I have done pretty well since I have moved on, and now I am back up in the north east to try to make Sunderland the best I possibly can."

Allardyce was coy when asked about the appointment of a number two, saying only that progress was being made, but refusing to name names. It is understood, though, it will not be Reid, with long-time associate Neil McDonald and Steve Round among those also being touted for the position.