Skip to content

Sam Allardyce says early England departure is biggest regret of his career

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sam Allardyce cannot get England departure off his mind

Sam Allardyce believes he should not have left his role as England coach and confessed he still regularly thinks about his early departure.

The 62-year-old took charge of just one game as England boss after taking over in July last year - a 1-0 win over Slovakia in September - before leaving his post by mutual agreement with the FA following a newspaper investigation claiming he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.

An FA statement said Allardyce's conduct "was inappropriate" and Gareth Southgate was placed in temporary charge, with Allardyce going on to excel in charge of Crystal Palace before leaving Selhurst Park at the end of last season.

Sam Allardyce speaks to the press outside his home in Bolton
Image: Allardyce created a great deal of media furore after newspaper investigation

Despite the incident taking place over a year ago, Allardyce told Goals on Sunday he has numerous regrets about the whole episode and struggles to get it off his mind.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about that [the biggest regret of his managerial career]," Allardyce said. "Legally, it is a difficult subject for me to talk about at the minute but I think to say one thing personally: I don't think I should have left.

"I can't go any deeper than that but since it happened, people from my point of view have had a good, long look at it and clearly, if a little bit more patience had been shown, I believe I should have still been there.

Sam Allardyce gives instructions during his first match in charge of England
Image: Allardyce gives instructions during his only match in charge of England

"The gutting thing about it is helping somebody out who is desperate. With Scott [McGarvey - football agent], it was the situation I found myself in. But it is what it is, and you can't dwell over it. I think the most harrowing experience for my family was after and what people said and did and what they tried to do to me and my family without having evidence. People were spouting off a bit of subterfuge in all fairness. But it's gone, you have to move on and we have.

Also See:

"I think about it a lot. Especially when the England games come up and I've just been able to watch them again recently. It was a really sad moment for me, having worked so hard to get to the pinnacle in my career - you're never going to get a job at a top club if you're English - so to get the England job is the pinnacle of your career."

Allardyce - who has ruled himself out of taking the Scotland job - did insist he still enjoyed his time with the national side, and believes that England need to produce the goods in a competitive tournament to appease expectant fans.

Sam Allardyce shows his frustration during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace
Image: Allardyce transformed the fortunes of Crystal Palace last season

"I had a super time with the players and the squad," Allardyce added. "It changed an awful lot around me and Sammy [Lee] and I was actually the first manager to work from St George's Park. We felt like we could make a big difference.

"St George's Park is a wonderful facility but it can get a bit claustrophobic and we were thinking about ways to get rid of the boredom, if you like, and make sure the players looked forward to meeting up and moving forward from there.

"They've qualified [for the 2018 World Cup] and they've done all that has been asked of them in terms of qualifying. There are already questions about what they will be like, but at some point, an England team will need to break that cycle, that negativity, by going further than expected.

"If they are all fit at the end of the season, they could have a good tournament but they have to cope with the psychological side of it because that is the big drawback for the recent England sides at tournament level.

"It is the greatest regret of my life in football. In terms of that disappointment, it will never leave me but there's nothing I can do about that now, I have to move on with my life.

"I have to look back on my career and say 'I had a fabulous time'. I left school at 15 and never worked. There's not too many people who can say that, all I've done is enjoy myself."

Play Super 6
Play Super 6

Simply predict six correct scores to win the £250k jackpot. Enter your selections for free here.

Around Sky