January window key to survival – Allardyce
New West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has admitted the January transfer window will be important to the club’s hopes of survival.
The 66-year-old has been tasked with the job of keeping the Baggies in the Premier League and signed a contract until the end of the 2021-22 season. Allardyce replaced Slaven Bilic, who was sacked after West Brom secured only one victory from their opening 13 games to leave them two points from safety.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Sam said: “They (the board) are prepared to get some players, but we need to find where those players are and who wants to let a player go in this pandemic. I can’t suggest at this moment how many players we need.
“By the time I had finished four weeks and no wins in six games at Crystal Palace, I knew exactly what we needed to do and pushed Steve (Parish) beyond the brink of really where he wanted to go which paid off in the end. It will be a very important part I think and while theplayersherearetryingtheir very best and had a fantastic gutsy performance at Manchester City.”
This is Allardyce’s first role since he left Everton after he guided them to an eighth-place finish in the 2017-18 campaign after they were embroiled in a relegation battle when he had replaced Marco Silva six months earlier.
After keeping up Sunderland and Crystal Palace in similar circumstances, the one-time England boss expressed sympathy for predecessor Bilic, who replaced him at West Ham in 2015. “I know Slaven and he is a great guy, but it is what it is when the board make a decision and I am here to try and save West Brom and keep them up.”