Tottenham managerial hopeful Tim Sherwood must be crazy says West Ham's Allardyce
Tottenham managerial hopeful Tim Sherwood must be crazy says West Ham's Allardyce
"This a love/hate job. Sometimes you can think, 'Why the
hell am I doing this?'" admits Hammers' boss before League Cup clash
with Spurs
You don't have to be mad but... Allardyce is hooked on being a football boss
Matthew Lewis
Sam Allardyce reckons Tim Sherwood has to be CRAZY to become a football manager.
But West Ham boss Allardyce admitted the "love-hate" job is a drug despite the never-ending danger of the sack. The dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas
has seen Sherwood promoted from running Tottenham's development team to
caretaker head coach for Wednesday's home Capital One Cup quarter-final
against the Hammers.
Reaching the semi-finals will be a step towards convincing the White Hart Lane club's board that Sherwood, a Spurs midfielder a decade ago, is worth the job on a permanent basis.
Under-pressure
Allardyce will seemingly help the 44-year-old out by not fielding a
full-strength side (see below), after admitting that West Ham's league
results have to quickly improve if he is to stay in his own position.
But the former Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle boss reckons the highs of football management are worth enduring the lows.
"It's
a love/hate job," said Allardyce. "Sometimes you can sit and think,
'Why the hell am I doing this?' But if you're in it it's because it's
what you do best.
"What else are you going to do? You can do Sky
[TV punditry]. That's okay for a while. Those who get into that get
comfortable in that life and are rarely going to step out of that and
come into the crazy world of management.
"But once you've been in
it and it gets in your blood, you pine for it. If you lose it, you pine
to get back in it and do all the thing is you do on a day to day basis. I
enjoy challenging myself. I wouldn't be still here if I hadn't taken
those challenges by the scruff of the neck and improved every football
club I've ever been at."
Allardyce reckons Sherwood, who has been
working at Spurs for five years, has the potential to become a manager
but added: "What would probably surprise me is that he hasn't challenged
himself sooner than this.
"Obviously, for him, the right position
hasn't come up. If you're in a good job, why leave it to be a manager?
That has a bit of a crazy line in it. You must be crazy leaving this job
to go and be a manager because you could be one of the 50 or 60 out of
92 managers who end up with the sack - because that's what happens every
year now. Opportunity knocks: Sherwood's 'interview' starts against West Ham
Getty Images
"Fifty per cent or more generally get changed every year in
the 92 professional clubs. The removal of managers at this level is
probably the highest it's been in the entirety of the Premier League.
You have to be pretty good to last."
AVB didn't last after Tottenham spent over £100m on building a new-look, post-Gareth Bale squad this summer.
Allardyce
has previously been critical of foreign managers who get top English
jobs - twice in the Portuguese's case. But the Irons' boss still
expressed his "surprise" at the sacking.
"You would have to be a
bit of a miracle worker to get everyone functioning at 100% when they
have just arrived in a league that they have never played in before," he
said.
"I think the fruition of the change around at Tottenham starts next season, not this. There is a lack of patience in the game."
But
while the only three clubs below West Ham in the table have already
changed manager this season, and West Brom - the team directly above
them - axed Steve Clarke last weekend, Hammers co-owner David Sullivan
has promised to give Allardyce the rest of the season to steady the
ship.
The Irons face champions Manchester United and league leaders Arsenal in their next two games.
Allardyce, who fielded a team without a striker at Spurs in October and masterminded a 3-0 win, admitted: "The only way that I can relieve pressure on myself is to get results.
"Even
with the backing of David Gold and David Sullivan, their patience can
not last for ever if I continue to lose matches. It is as simple as
that.
"I have been appreciative of their support and backing but I
have to deliver and that is what I have been employed to do. I have to
get the team winning as quickly as possible."
Tottenham vs West Ham: Probable teams
Tottenham (4-4-2): Lloris; Walker, Chiriches, Kaboul, Rose; Capoue, Townsend, Holtby, Dembele; Adebayor, Defoe. West Ham (4-2-3-1) Jaaskelainen; McCartney, Collins, Rat, O’Brien; Collison, Diarra; Jarvis, Morrison, Taylor; Carlton Cole.
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