SAM PLAYS IT HIS WAY
Boss chops match and leaves Rooney nervous
SAM ALLARDYCE laid down the law on his first day as England manager when he scrapped his opening match – and left Wayne Rooney sweating over the captaincy.
The Football Association had lined up a fixture against Croatia at Wembley on September 1, three days before the World Cup qualifier away to Slovakia.
But Allardyce has shelved those plans and will instead work with his players at their St George’s Park training base before going straight in at the deep end in Trnava.
Allardyce has also refused to give Rooney assurances over whether he will keep the armband.
Rooney has spoken of his desire to continue as Three Lions skipper, despite criticism following England’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.
“I don’t want to put myself out in the open just yet. It’s a decision that I’ll make once I’ve
got my feet under the table,” said Allardyce of the captaincy.
“I have got to leave that until we reach all the players and get the coaching staff together and plan for the internationals in September
“Will I wait until I meet the players? I think so. Put it this way – I still think Wayne Rooney has a massive part to play in the England side. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.” Last week Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho gave the 30-year-old a cast-iron guarantee that he retains the role at club level but Allardyce has left him with a nervous wait.
And Allardyce would also not say whether he thinks Rooney, right, is better in midfield or as a striker, and plans to follow Mourinho’s lead on how he is deployed.
“What’s Rooney’s best position? I’m not saying. I think Jose will determine that,” said Allardyce. “Because if Jose says he is not going to play him in centre-midfield and he’s playing up front and scoring goals for Manchester United, then it would be pointless me bringing him into England and playing him in centre-midfield.” However, Allardyce does acknowledge that he will find himself at loggerheads with Premier League managers now he has crossed over from club to international management.
He was asked, in particular, about his sometimes fractious relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and accepts there are bound to be clashes with club bosses.
He said: “The demands on Premier League managers and the demand on me as England manager is bound to cause some conflict down the line because the pressures are far greater than ever before.
“They are bound to want to protect their players and that is what I have to try to overcome with a little bit of give and take, hopefully.”
Allardyce, who consulted his wife Lynn about whether to take on a job which comes with such intense scrutiny before he signed a two-year contract, has also vowed to make the England camp a “fun” place to be. “We don’t have to make it too
monotonous when we are actually together,” he said.
“My style is very much in terms of man-management and having a good relationship with the players. Not being distant. That’s not my style. I like to be in among the banter.”
Martin Glenn, the FA’s chief executive, said that Allardyce was the only candidate who was offered the England job and that the appointment had received a ringing endorsement from Sir Alex Ferguson. “The single biggest [thing Ferguson said] was he’s a winner. He’s got the edge.
“Winners can sometimes be a bit awkward. That was his phrase. He’s a winner,” said Glenn.
Sammy Lee, Allardyce’s former assistant at Bolton, will be part of his back-room staff while Glenn also confirmed that the FA are “in discussions” with Bayern Munich assistant coach Paul Clement over a part-time role.