Allardyce: I will use bitter blow of Euros to rebuild England stars’ shattered morale

SAM ALLARDYCE will start work on restoring England’s shattered morale on the day he meets his players.

Allardyce doesn’t want any of his squad dwelling on their failures at the Euros when they meet up ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on September 4.

The 61-year-old successor to Roy Hodgson believes mental fragility was one of the reasons England were humiliated by Iceland and Allardyce vows he won’t waste any time in fixing the problem. ‘It’s about regaining a bit of confidence they have lost,’ he said.

‘Let’s start delivering and gain from the experience.

‘It was a very bitter experience but players should keep that inner drive, hold it and use it positively to say, “We don’t want to experience that again”.

‘We’re going to try to qualify for the World Cup and when we go next time we’ll be better prepared, mentally, to succeed.’

Allardyce was overlooked for the England job a decade ago because Steve McClaren had won a trophy and reached a European final with Middlesbrough, while he hadn’t.

He admits having had an anxious wait again last week after being interviewed and only finding out on Thursday he’d beaten Steve Bruce, Jurgen Klinsmann and Eddie Howe to the job.

Allardyce has nearly 25 years of management experience, including in the Premier League with Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland.

‘I think I’m the right age with the right experience and hopefully I can pass on a lot of knowledge and experience to the team.’

Asked what he would bring to the job, he said: ‘Man-management.’

He is due to meet his first squad at the end of August. A friendly is planned at Wembley on September 1 before facing Slovakia three days later.