For anyone questioning Sam Allardyce‘s appetite for a relegation battle at the age of 68, consider this.
He reported for his first day as Leeds United manager at around 7am on Wednesday. He left their Thorp Arch training centre at around 7.30pm. Long day.
What Allardyce doesn’t know about escaping relegation isn’t worth knowing. If Leeds had shown the same level of desire all season, they might not be in this mess.
Allardyce’s appointment as Javi Gracia’s successor was an open secret by the time he arrived at Leeds’ HQ with assistant coach Karl Robinson by his side, to start a survival mission on Wednesday.
Allardyce, in his own indomitable manner, came bouncing in; positive and upbeat. His body language exuded exactly what has been sorely lacking at Leeds: confidence and spirit.
New Leeds United manager Sam Allardyce has introduced positivity to the out-of-form club
Experienced relegation battler Allardyce has been all smiles since taking over on Wednesday
The 68-year-old has focused on passion, motivation and defending in his early days at Leeds
He was gracious as he firmly shook hands with the staff who had arrived at work before him. His greetings were accompanied with the broadest of smiles. There’s not been much of that at Leeds recently.
Marcelo Bielsa was loved — and is still loved — but he was insular, only really engaging during team meetings. Jesse Marsch was the polar opposite.
He loved interacting with his colleagues, asking them about their families and personal lives. Marsch was exuberant but there was always a sense that he wasn’t particularly sincere.
The improvement in mood during Allardyce’s first 48 hours in charge is said to be in stark contrast to the final days of Gracia’s reign that was brought to an end during talks with Andrea Radrizzani on Monday. Gracia is friendly, kind and courteous. But much like Bielsa, he was detached during his time at Leeds.
‘There was a spring in Sam’s step, a presence about him. It’s something we’ve been missing for a while,’ said a source.
Allardyce had been due to manage a legends team against a Peter Reid-led celebrities XI in a charity match at Oldham on Sunday, to raise funds for those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing.
It was a long-standing arrangement and one close to Allardyce’s heart, but he has had to pull out and his place will be filled by Joe Royle.
As he said his hellos, Allardyce was still hoping to appoint long-term aide Sammy Lee to his staff — but by…