Sunderland’s Allardyce wants better record in north-east

REUTERS – Sam Allardyce is the first man to manage both north-east rivals Sunderland and Newcastle United but is hoping his time at the Stadium of Light is far more successful than at St James’ Park.

Allardyce was at Newcastle for eight months and 21 league matches from May 2007 until being sacked in January 2008 but the 60-year-old’s arrival at Sunderland has not created the backlash from fans that would have occurred if he was a Geordie hero.

Allardyce spent a season with Sunderland as a player in the early 1980s, and even captained the side, and also had a brief spell as an assistant to then-manager Peter Reid in the 1990s.

Perhaps it will be third time lucky for Allardyce.

“I want to be more successful than I have been in the past, that’s for sure, and I want to stay a bit longer,” he said at his first news conference as Sunderland boss on Tuesday.

“I didn’t stay very long as a player, I didn’t stay very long with Reidy because I got the Notts County job and I didn’t stay very long at Newcastle, so I hope I stay a lot longer than that.

“Newcastle is in the past, it’s all over. I’m a man for the future, not to dwell on the past. It happened.

“I have done pretty well since I have moved on, and now I am back up in the north-east to try to make Sunderland the best I possibly can.”

NO WINS

Newcastle may be in the past but they are the only team below Sunderland in the Premier League table with neither side having won any of their opening eight league matches.

Former Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat left the club on Oct. 4 and Allardyce, who had been out of a job since leaving West Ham United at the end of last season, has been lured to the Stadium of Light by the challenge of keeping Sunderland up.

“It is in my blood. The challenge is something I need. It is almost an addiction,” he said.

He is the 13th man to take charge of Sunderland as either a permanent boss or on a caretaker basis in 13 years and knows just what he is facing.

“Even at this early stage of the season it is clear we are in trouble.

“The fact that we have 30 games will be as important as anything else because it may take the vast majority of them to get safe. It can take such a long time to catch up.

“My job is hopefully not to get into that panic and fear zone where there are a few games left and if you don’t win, you get relegated. I have some time now to try and sort that out as quickly as I can.”

Allardyce’s first match in charge will be at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday with Newcastle visiting Sunderland for the Tyne-Wear derby the following weekend.

(Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by Ken Ferris)