Sam Allardyce has reportedly accepted an offer to manage Leeds United on a short-term deal until the end of the Premier League season. The former England boss, who boasts an incredible track record of helping teams to survive in the top flight, is said to be in position to replace Javi Gracia at Elland Road on Wednesday and will be in the dugout when the Yorkshire club face Manchester City this weekend.
Gracia was only appointed by Leeds to succeed Jesse Marsch in February but his position became untenable after Sunday’s thrashing at the hands of Bournemouth, which brought the Whites closer to a potential return to the Championship at the end of the campaign. The Spaniard said his goodbyes to his players and staff on Tuesday morning, while Leeds sporting director Victor Orta is also expected to leave the club as part of a wider shake-up over the coming days.
Allardyce was quickly earmarked as the first-choice candidate to replace Gracia on a short-term basis and has already agreed a deal to manage Leeds for the last four games of the Premier League season, according to the Daily Mail. It is said that Allardyce is expected to start work on Wednesday and will take charge of his first game with Leeds against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The 68-year-old has gained a reputation as a survival specialist over the years and Leeds’ hierarchy will be desperately hoping that he can work his magic in order to help them retain their Premier League status in advance of next season. He defied the odds to keep Sunderland and Crystal Palace up in 2016 and 2017 respectively, although his last top-flight stint ended in failure when he was unable to avoid relegation with West Bromwich Albion in 2021.
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It remains to be seen whether Allardyce’s arrival at Leeds will have the desired impact on their survival hopes, with the Yorkshire outfit set to face Manchester City, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham in their remaining fixtures between now and the end of the campaign. He shared the secrets behind his approach to keeping teams up during an appearance on Monday Night Football back in 2017, in which he insisted that building a strong defence was the most important thing to get right in order to ensure survival.
“It only takes one goal to win a game,” said Allardyce. “Clean sheets give you the platform to be successful in a season. You can’t always score two or three goals. Crystal Palace had only kept one clean sheet in 17 Premier League matches when I got there last season, which meant the bare minimum was two goals to win a game.”
“We were becoming desperate for three points. It didn’t happen straight away, in fact it took me six games before I got a clean sheet at Bournemouth. That was the last day of the transfer window and the influx of new players made all the difference defensively.
“It creates a lot more confidence and flair for the front lads. They can go off and create and score more goals because they’ve got confidence in the defence. The Premier League is so good that the opposition can capitalise massively on those mistakes. You give the ball away there and the opposition are at your back four or your back two and they are shooting and scoring goals.”
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