Sam Allardyce reveals the real reason he couldn't resist Sunderland job

SAM ALLARDYCE settled into his new mission at the Stadium of Light and revealed why he could not resist the challenge ahead at Sunderland.

 

"It's a drug, it's an adrenaline drug, it's an addiction," he said of management. "That's what my wife keeps telling me. You can't leave it alone. I like working with young people who want to be successful generally.

"I walk into a training facility like this to work with a group of players, no matter how challenging it can be sometimes, it's what I do.

"It's what I am best at. I think it is what I was put on the planet to do. I've been doing it for that long now, I can't leave it alone."

Ahead is some challenge, lifting Sunderland, who have not won in the Premier League this season, out of the gloom.

And while he hugely respects his predecessor Dick Advocaat, he hopes the Dutchman's verdict on the squad he left behind proves hopelessly inaccurate.

Advocaat did not mince his words when walking away from his one and only job in English football, announcing Sunderland "weren't good enough" to survive yet another relegation dogfight.

Allardyce steps into his new role with his eyes wide open about the challenge that lies ahead and knowing something has to give.

Either his CV is blemished by a first relegation from the Premier League or Advocaat chokes on his doom-ridden forecast.

Dick Advocaat left claiming Sunderland weren't good enough to stay up

 

Sam Allardyce acknowledges keeping Sunderland up will be a big challenge

"He is a very experienced man who has worked with these players," said Allardyce. "That's his opinion and I have to prove that wrong, don't I? I have got to be the man who comes in and at some point down the line is able to say, 'Dick, you were wrong'.

"I certainly hope I'm not saying, 'Dick, you were right' that's for sure.

"If that happens, I have made a bad decision, haven't I?"

Even some of Allardyce's close friends did not think he would accept the offer when Sunderland chairman Ellis Short came calling.

The American billionaire has earned a reputation for hiring and firing managers while many observers claim there is something fundamentally wrong when a club pulls in 40,000-plus crowds every other week and has the seventh highest wage bill in the country, yet struggles year in, year out.

Sunderland's league position might have frightened off many managers, but Allardyce believes he is the perfect fit for his new employers.

Not only was he Ellis Short's No1 target, he was also the overwhelming choice of long-suffering fans desperate for some managerial stability.

And the he believes he will be working in the best environment he's ever experienced.

"I've not worked at a place like this my entire life," he said. "Blackburn was good, Newcastle's was good, West Ham wasn't very good at all but this place is magnificent. As a training facility, it gives me the best opportunity to work with players and get the best out of them.

"If you get out of bed and don't like coming here in the morning, man, you shouldn't be working in the game.

"As for the fans, they look at the track record and think this is a good man for the job.