I WANT TO STICK AT TOFFEES
SAM ALLARDYCE wants Everton to stop seeing him as a firefighter, and instead view him as a manager who can set their future alight.
The Toffees boss is open in admitting he has no idea yet if his Goodison Park tenure will extend beyond this season, with many fans still firmly unconvinced by his dour, long-ball image.
Yet as he prepares for a crucial visit to Watford – which will offer insight into Everton’s chances of snatching a European place this season – the veteran boss is adamant it was ambition that brought him to the club, not simply a rescue act.
“Coming back out of retirement was not to come and rescue someone else again, but to do bigger things in the future,” he said.
“A club this size, with this ambition, is a great opportunity for me to finish my career here, hopefully.” Asked if he will discuss his future with owner Farhad Moshiri (left), he said: “It depends on what everybody considers is the plan going forward, when we all sit down together.
“In the summer, we can sit down and discuss at greater length where we are going to go next season, and the season after that, and the season after that...
“Long-term planning is something this club, with the new stadium, has to do.
“It has to find out what direction it is heading, not just next season, but for the next two or three seasons, going into the new stadium.
“If we all work together, all pushing in the same direction – not just the first team but the whole infrastructure of the club – then it will move forward.”
Many fans expect Allardyce – after signing just an 18-month contract – will keep Everton up this season, and then make way for a more “glamorous” manager, with names like former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel previously in the frame.
But even though he admits he can’t answer questions on his future, former England boss Big Sam insisted his aim is to pursue a European place with the Toffees, by reaching seventh place in the Premier League, and then try to go further.
“I can’t honestly answer that. What we do with the football team will ultimately decide how long I stay,” he said.
“I have the view that my relationship (with Moshiri) is good enough so that, at any stage, we would be honest enough with each other to move forward to the new stadium, if I’m pushing the club in the right direction.
“If I’m not pushing the club in the right direction, they would obviously say, ‘Look
Sam...’ As long as we continue forward then it’s not a shortterm fix for me.”
If Allardyce has a dream, it is to take Everton into their new stadium, after delivering European football. “The new stadium simply has to have a better team than there is now,” he added.
Leighton Baines is back for Everton, but loanee Eliaquim Mangala will have further tests, to see if he is out for the rest of the season, after damaging a knee.