Allardyce ‘will dwell on’ error

GREG CLARKE, the new chairman of the Football Association, believes Sam Allardyce will ‘dwell on the regrettable episode’ that led to his departure as England manager for a long time.

Clarke is insistent that the FA had a duty to act swiftly once a newspaper investigation demonstrated Allardyce offering advice on how to get around regulations surrounding third-party transfers. Allardyce was also alleged to have agreed a £400,000 deal to represent a fictitious Far East investment firm.

Writing in his programme notes for England’s World Cup qualifier against Malta, Clarke said: ‘When I began work in early September, I could not have expected that one of my first big challenges would be around the unexpected departure of Sam Allardyce.

‘It has been an entirely regrettable episode and I am sure he will dwell on it for quite some time.

‘But as we are the organisation responsible for leading the whole English game from the grassroots to the elite, we had to act swiftly and decisively.

‘Beyond that, there is no need to go into the circumstances again here, particularly as we are fully focused on the task at hand and determined to give Gareth Southgate our full support.’

Southgate has been handed the role of caretaker manager for four matches — against Malta yesterday, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain. He has now emerged as the favourite to secure the role for the long term.

‘Gareth deserves this chance to lead the squad through the next four matches and I have every faith he can rise to the task,’ Clarke wrote.

‘Then, when we get to mid-November, we will be in a perfect position to assess our next steps.’