Sam Allardyce set to be named England manager

Sam Allardyce is expected to be named the successor to Roy Hodgson as England manager on Thursday.

Sunderland’s boss was interviewed by the Football Association last week, along with Hull City’s Steve Bruce and one other candidate.

The FA are widely tipped to confirm Allardyce as their new man at the helm ahead of September’s opening World Cup 2018 qualifiers.

Allardyce, 61, has long made known his desire to manage the England team.

He was in the running when Hodgson was appointed four years ago and stated afterwards that he hoped to still be in a position to land the role whenever the then Three Lions boss moved on.

Hodgson departed in the wake of England’s disastrous Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland.

While some have criticised Allardyce’s direct and often defensively orientated tactics during his club management career, former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has defended the heir-apparent.

The Swede, in charge of England from 2001 to 2006, insists the tactics employed by Allardyce during his management career have often been as a result of the perils the clubs he managed found themselves in.

“Sam has been there for a long, long time and he’s done a good job wherever he’s been,” he told Sky Sports.

“He’s very organised so that will be a very organised team I suppose.

So why not? Good luck, Sam. “If you take a team from the lower part of the table, you have to adapt what you want to do. You have to defend and be organised or you will go down.”

Eriksson pointed to the results Allardyce has on his record as a manager and says that being well-versed in dealing with the English press will work in his favour.

He feels England are making a good appointment in choosing the former Bolton, Newcastle and West Ham manager.

“So I think it depends on the situation, whether you have a top team, a middle team or a bottom team,” Eriksson added.

“Many times Sam has managed a team that has been struggling for survival and he has done the job.”

England are 1.36 to win their upcoming World Cup qualifying group while they are 19.00 to win the 2018 tournament in Russia.