Sunderland must keep Sam Allardyce, says Vito Mannone
Thursday 14 April 2016 10:42, UK
Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone has urged Sam Allardyce to remain as manager even if he fails to keep the club in the Premier League.
The Black Cats face a crucial game at Norwich on Saturday knowing a defeat would leave them seven points adrift of safety with five games to play.
It is four years since Sunderland last finished a season with the same manager with which they had set out, and Mannone believes Allardyce, who has insisted he will not make a decision on his future until the summer, is still the best man for the job.
He told the Journal: "Obviously the manager needs to stay. If he's here and we do stay up, it's going to be a good base for this club to finally get what it's able to achieve.
"I've always said that this club has the potential to be a very good one. We have to start by being in a better part of the table, trying to achieve a higher position.
"But from there, you've seen what teams like Stoke and Swansea have done. They've done magnificently.
"Leicester are a great example and they've done it so quickly, but I think there's the base and the right man in charge to be in a better position."
Allardyce, 61, signed a two-year deal when he replaced Dick Advocaat in October last year with Sunderland placed just one place off the foot of the table, and they are currently one place better off.
