Big Sam - Pressure can be 'hell'

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admits he has sympathy for the Premier League clubs currently embroiled in a relegation battle.

Manager reveals fear that comes with battle to avoid top-flight drop

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admits he has sympathy for the Premier League clubs currently embroiled in a relegation battle as he looks to guide his side in the opposite direction. The Hammers are favourites for promotion from the Championship this season and could replace one of a number of clubs in the top-flight, with just two points currently separating 16th placed QPR from rock-bottom Wigan. Allardyce, who was tasked with rescuing Blackburn from the drop in his previous job, knows the stress that comes with a relegation dogfight. "It is just hell," he told the Daily Express. "Talk about not sleeping. A manager's job on a Saturday is stressful enough at the best of times. "In a relegation battle, the pressure is just constant. There is constant negativity flowing in and around the club. "Do you know what is the biggest one dropped on you as the manager? There is that fear that the club might have to sack people, make them redundant if you go down. "There is fear from the owners, fear from the sponsorship boys, fear from the corporate hospitality people. And it all comes down to you as boss to stop all that by avoiding relegation."

Fear

The manager sees similarities between his time at Blackburn and the job Mark Hughes has been handed at struggling QPR. "The owner, Tony Fernandes, will have great fear and anxiety just now over the amount of money he has sunk into the club," he said. "But things cannot be instant. Halfway through the season, a new manager has come in but they have the same problems. "They can't score goals and they ship too many and they keep getting men sent off. I would think Mark would revert to what he did when he took over at Ewood Park. "They were third from bottom. He got them from there to safety and then went on."