Sam Allardyce made a brief appearance on the sidelines for the final Leeds United matches in the Premier League, as he was tasked with keeping the Whites in England’s top flight.
Recently, Leeds United legend Stuart Dallas spoke about the veteran gaffer’s stint and made a shocking claim. Allardyce was given four games to try to save Leeds United’s Premier League status, facing Manchester City, Newcastle United, West Ham, and Tottenham.
Two of his opponents, Manchester City and West Ham, won European trophies that season, while Newcastle secured a top-four finish for the first time in 20 years. Tottenham, meanwhile, posed a tough challenge on the final day.
Stuart Dallas makes a bold claim on Sam Allardyce
After Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubala, and Javi Gracia, Allardyce became Leeds United‘s fourth manager that season. Dallas believes that if Allardyce had been given more time, the team could have avoided relegation.
“I was injured at the time, Sam’s come in and he’s just obviously tried to lift the mood because we were down in the dumps at the bottom of the table,” Dallas said on the Fozcast. “It was four games so it was always going to be a tough ask for him to try and help us.
“If he had been given longer I am pretty sure he would have got us out of the situation we were in. He came in and the first game was Man City away, so straight away he’s possibly down to three games.”
In September, Allardyce noted that Leeds United were beyond saving and that Marsch and Gracia had ruined the squad’s fitness.
“The biggest disappointment was their fitness had gone from hero to zero after Bielsa,” Allardyce said. “They’d gone from top of the tree to third from bottom. Two previous coaches had completely destroyed the team’s fitness.”
Leeds United will look to return to the Premier League this season and are in a tight race to secure one of the top two automatic promotion spots.
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