Sam Allardyce: 'I still think about early England departure'

Allardyce: 'I still think about England exit'
© SilverHub
Sam Allardyce believes that he should not have left his role as England coach and reveals that he still thinks regularly about his early departure.

Sam Allardyce has described his early departure as England boss as the biggest regret of his career.

The 62-year-old was in charge of just one game as Three Lions boss after taking over in July last year - a 1-0 win over Slovakia in September.

Allardyce went on to leave his post by mutual agreement with the Football Association following a newspaper investigation claiming that he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.

An FA statement said that Allardyce's conduct "was inappropriate" and Gareth Southgate was placed in temporary England charge, eventually penning a permanent deal.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about [the biggest regret of his managerial career]," Allardyce told Sky Sports News. "Legally, it is a difficult subject for me to talk about at the minute but I think to say one thing personally - I don't think I should have left.

"I can't go any deeper than that but since it happened, people from my point of view have had a good, long look at it and clearly, if a little bit more patience had been shown, I believe I should have still been there.

"I think the most harrowing experience for my family was after and what people said and did and what they tried to do to me and my family without having evidence. People were spouting off a bit of subterfuge in all fairness. But it's gone, you have to move on and we have.

"I think about it a lot. Especially when the England games come up and I've just been able to watch them again recently. It was a really sad moment for me, having worked so hard to get to the pinnacle in my career - you're never going to get a job at a top club if you're English - so to get the England job is the pinnacle of your career.

"It is the greatest regret of my life in football. In terms of that disappointment, it will never leave me but there's nothing I can do about that now, I have to move on with my life."

Allardyce is currently on hiatus after leaving Crystal Palace following the conclusion of the 2016-17 Premier League season.

Interim manager Gareth Southgate watches on during England training on October 4, 2016
Read Next:
Gareth Southgate to receive £250k bonus?
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole



Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City87102942522
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd86202121920
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs85211551017
4Watford84311313015
5Chelsea8413138513
6Arsenal84131210213
7Burnley834186213
8Liverpool83411312113
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle832398111
10West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom824279-210
11Southampton823379-29
12Huddersfield TownHuddersfield823359-49
13Swansea CitySwansea822458-38
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton8224610-48
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham8224814-68
16Everton8224513-88
17Stoke CityStoke8224918-98
18Leicester CityLeicester81341013-36
19Bournemouth8116412-84
20Crystal Palace8107218-163