Sam Allardyce And Rafa Benitez
Sam Allardyce has revealed that he and the West Brom hierarchy have held early discussions about the coming summer, and the various eventualities which will be decided in the coming weeks on the pitch.
Sam Allardyce said “Those plans are only financial at the moment, it’s not been discussing players or what type of pre-season we might or might not have,” Allardyce explained. “We have had some discussions about things both ways without actually nailing anything down – just starting the process. Once our fate is known, we have to be ready to pounce if you like. From my point of view, it would be the right time to sit down and discuss what the situation is. Hopefully I don’t have to do it because I’ll still be here next year because we’re in the Premier League. It is in the contract. That is all done. We left the other side of it open to us both agreeing what we are going to do. If one of us disagrees we hold our hands up and say ‘thank you very much’. If we both agree to go forward we get on with it.”
While the results haven’t been there in the main – Albion under Allardyce have only managed a couple of league wins – he is grateful for the support that he has received from sporting director Luke Dowling and chief executive Ken at the club’s training ground. In the event that Albion relegated in the next few weeks, Allardyce will sit down with both figures to hold talks over how the club plans to move forward – both on the pitch and in the dug-out.
Sam Allardyce said “That’s a long discussion with Luke and Ken on what changes do they think they have to make financially. How much money do they think they need to save, how many key players do they think they would have to let go. What budget would be available from then on. That’s a very complex situation to sit down and look at. If I’m to stay at West Brom, I’d want to be getting them back in the Premier League at the first time of asking – like I did when I joined West Ham. I wouldn’t want to mess about. I’d want to get straight back, but we all need to be going in the same direction to do that. I have to say the support here, from Luke and from Ken and from the owner and the back room staff, I can’t ask for any more from that point of view. The support has always been there and as disappointed as we have all been, we have tried to keep as cheerful as we possibly can to keep going forward. The support I have had has made me feel very comfortable in trying to do my job correctly.”
Albion are back in action this weekend at Chelsea, and they have quite a task on their hands to remain in the Premier League; 10 points from safety, Allardyce has already admitted they will probably need to win as many as six of their remaining nine matches. Attention has already turned to the summer and what it will hold, both on the managerial front and in the transfer window. Allardyce, who signed an 18-month deal when he took over at the club before Christmas, hopes they can pull off another Great Escape – it’ll then put any uncertainty surrounding his own job to bed.
