Allardyce convinced the time is right for him

LONDON: New England manager Sam Allardyce believes it is just the right time in his career for him to be taking on what some have called the impossible job.

Allardyce, who will give his first news conference on Monday, has left Premier League club Sunderland to succeed Roy Hodgson with the England team at a low ebb after poor performances at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016. Allardyce, 61, was upset to be overlooked for the job in 2006 after being interviewed before Steve McClaren was appointed.

Ten years on, he is convinced the extra decade in management will prove beneficial in a job successive managers have found comes with elevated expectations and intense media scrutiny.

“It is the right time for me,” he told the English Football Association’s website (www.thefa.com).

“I’m at the right age with the right experience. “Hopefully I can pass on that knowledge to the team and the staff that works behind the team to try to get a very happy camp that becomes successful.”

Allardyce will be expected to devote more time than previous England managers to all age groups, working at St George’s Park, the national football headquarters in Burton where Monday’s news conference will take place (1000GMT).

He can expect to face questions about his supposed preference for direct football, a reputation he has never been able to shake off. It proved costly in his four years at West Ham United from 2011-15, where supporters never took to him and his contract was not renewed.