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Sam Allardyce says Premier League safety not certain for Sunderland

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Sam Allardyce admits the Sunderland job is a big challenge after their poor start to the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce says it could take him all season to sort out Sunderland's problems and has given no assurances over the club's Premier League safety.

Speaking in his first press conference since taking charge, the 60-year-old admitted that his intrigue in chairman Ellis Short's vision and the sizeable chunk of time on his side persuaded him to accept the job, but he insists "it's clear we are in trouble".

Allardyce promised that all playing and non-playing staff will have the chance to prove themselves before he looks to make any changes, but he is demanding an improvement on what has been produced so far.

New Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce arrives at the Stadium of Light
Image: Allardyce believes Sunderland have 'fantastic facilities' at their disposal

"The opportunity to have the next 30 games to get us out is as important as anything else and it could take the vast majority of that," he said.

"The club has had to wait until the last game to ensure safety three or four times over the last few years. I want to make sure we don't get into that panic zone, and 30 games to get there is one of the reasons why I took the job. It gives me a bit of time.

Big Sam the man?
Big Sam the man?

We examine Sam Allardyce's Premier League record at Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham.

"The club has fantastic facilities to support the players and I hope it has the fantastic staff to support them. What I want to find out is whether the staff are doing as much as they can to help the players, and some of the players are disappointed with what they've produced up until now.

"I'm happy to give people here a chance. They're highly qualified, but I just want to see if they can work to my methods and if we all get on. If that's okay, then I don't envisage many changes. If it doesn't work, then I'll suggest a change, but I wouldn't envisage that is going to be a priority. 

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"Getting in my assistant is a priority. I have a few irons in the fire but nothing definite as yet and I won't disclose who it is until I get a yes from them. When I get my number two in then I'll be happy."

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Sam Allardyce insists he has to assess his squad before thinking about a potential move for free agent Kevin Nolan

Allardyce's former captain at both West Ham and Bolton, Kevin Nolan, is currently a free agent after being released by the Hammers and Allardyce admitted he may look to the 33-year-old if his current players fail to impress.

He said: "I have to assess the squad and whether I need another midfield player. Kevin and me go back a long way but I need to assess the ability of the squad and then take it from there.

"If I feel Kevin may be someone I can look at in the future, and will give us something, then that may be a line I enter down." 

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