Sam Allardyce is back for yet another stint in the Premier League (Picture: PA)
Sam Allardyce is back in the Premier League after being appointed as Leeds United manager until the end of the season and he has been quick to blow his own trumpet.
In a remarkable move, the Yorkshire club have brought in Big Sam with just four games to play in a bid to save themselves from relegation.
Leeds are 17th in the table, only outside the relegation zone on goal difference above Nottingham Forest.
They may not be in the drop zone as Allardyce takes over, replacing Javi Gracia, but he has a seriously tough task ahead of him, with the remaining four games being Manchester City (a), Newcastle (h), West Ham (a) and Tottenham (h).
The former Bolton boss is sounding confident, though, saying his footballing knowledge is comparable to the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta.
‘Far too many people think I am old and antiquated, which is so far from the truth,’ Allardyce told a press conference on Wednesday. ‘I may be 68 and look old but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms, not Pep (Guardiola), not (Jurgen) Klopp, not (Mikel) Arteta, so it’s all there with me.
‘I share what they do and I do what I do but in terms of knowledge and depth of knowledge, I’m up there with them – I’m not saying I’m better than them – but certainly as good as they are.
‘I just wish sometimes you get the opportunity that you can show but that’s not going to happen for me now apart from if I keep Leeds up and if this club was big enough to build a team that was going to challenge the big boys eventually, but that’s a long story away.’
Allardyce, who has managed Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Brom in the Premier League takes Leeds to Manchester City on Saturday for his first game in charge.
MORE : Leeds confirm arrival of Sam Allardyce to save club from Premier League relegation
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‘There’s nobody ahead of me.’