Allardyce’s thanks to Cats fans

Sam Allardyce thanked Sunderland and paid tribute to their ‘absolutely magnificent’ fans as he was unveiled as the new England boss.

The 61-year-old made the comments during a Football Association press conference at the Hilton Hotel at St George’s Park.

Allardyce had been sitting in his villa in Spain 12 months ago after leaving West Ham, when he was offered the challenge of keeping Sunderland in the Premier league after Dick Advocaat’s departure.

“I got pretty fed up pretty quickly, because football is everything to me. I couldn’t actually leave it alone,” he said. “I have to thank everybody at Sunderland for that opportunity, because that’s the opportunity that came along at the time.

“I chose the challenge and the success of saving them put me in the public eye again for when this position became available.

“I had a really great time at Sunderland. the fans were absolutely magnificent for me and I thank them for that.

“Hopefully the England fans will enjoy my time with them as much as the Sunderland fans did .”

Allardyce has already added his former Bolton assistant Sammy Lee to his coaching staff, and he said of his management style: “I think that choosing styles or systems depends on the players available and then who we’re playing.

“My coaching technique is to try and give the players the opportunity to win a football match wherever they are playing, be it home or away.”