Former Premier League star Kevin Davies has claimed that Sam Allardyce "relished the big games at Bolton" ahead of Leeds United's trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City.
Allardyce has had a handful of days to prepare his squad for their trip to the reigning champions this weekend. A 7-0 defeat was inflicted under a then Marcelo Bielsa side last season and the Whites simply cannot afford a repeat scoreline.
They are only ahead of Nottingham Forest - and out of the relegation zone - on goal difference alone. Yet rather than be fearful heading into the game, Davies has claimed that Allardyce will be looking forward to the challenge of coming up against Man City.
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"Sam has a great balance of when to go hard on a player and when to put the arm around them," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "His man-management was the best that I have worked under...Tactically he has got to look at the defence as Leeds are shipping far too many goals but they have the firepower to score as well.
"Sam has three of the top six to play in his remaining games. Some might think, 'I am not going to take the job'. But he is the opposite. He relished the big games at Bolton against the likes of Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez as he was so ambitious and wanted to prove himself. We worked so hard and upset the big boys on a number of occasions.
"It would not surprise me if he does pull it out of the bag."
Stephen Warnock, who played under Allardyce during his time in charge of Blackburn, added: “It is a very clever appointment but I think it should have been done when they brought Javi Gracia in.
"People often look past Sam Allardyce as he is not the sexy move. I think now they will have enough and the players will absolute love playing for him. He is a great character, I don’t think the fans will be overly happy but if he keeps them up and does the job, they will be happy.”
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