Allardyce set to be named England manager

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce is set to be appointed England’s next manager in the next 24 hours, British media reported on Wednesday.

England has been without a coach since Roy Hodgson stepped down following its Euro 2016 exit to Iceland in the last 16 and Sky Sports said Allardyce would be ratified as his replacement at a Football Association board meeting on Thursday.

Allardyce, 61, has been manager at Sunderland since last October and managed to steer it clear of relegation last season.

His coaching CV has included spells at Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United, but he has never managed a club which was likely to challenge for the Premier League title.

He has, however, never been relegated from England’s top flight and has not been afraid to ruffle some feathers along the way with some opposing coaches criticizing his playing style and accusing his teams of being overly physical or employing negative tactics.

Allardyce has been the favorite for the job, since Sunderland confirmed last week that it had given the FA permission to speak to its manager about the vacant England position.

Hull City manager Steve Bruce was also interviewed for the job, while British media reported the FA had spoken to United States’ German head coach Juergen Klinsmann as well as Bournemouth’s English coach Eddie Howe.

England has been searching for a new coach after their embarrassing exit from the European Championship at the end of last month.

Hodgson said he was standing down in the immediate aftermath of a 2-1 last-16 defeat to Iceland, the smallest country to ever compete in the tournament.

Allardyce was first interviewed for the England job following Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure after the 2006 World Cup but he was overlooked in favor of Steve McClaren.

He will now be tasked with restoring pride in the England team, which has not reached the semifinal of a major tournament since it lost to Germany as host in the last four of Euro ’96.

FA chief executive Martin Glenn told the BBC on Wednesday that the new manager would need to “build resilience” in his players.

“The British press, like it or not, are probably the most intensely passionate about the game in the world and that has a spill-over effect,” he said.

“The consequence of which is people probably play not to make a mistake, as opposed to play to win."