Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce has insisted that he is on the same level as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Arsenal's Mikel Arteta following his arrival at Leeds United.
Allardyce has been appointed as the new man at the helm at Elland Road as Leeds look to steer themselves clear of Premier League danger. Javi Gracia was relieved of his duties in West Yorkshire following the Whites' 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Sunday and subsequently replaced by the ex-England manager.
Opportunities have been few and far between for Allardyce since he left Goodison Park in May 2018. He returned to management in December 2020 with West Bromwich Albion but he was unable to stop them from dropping into the Championship.
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The 68-year-old, who left the Baggies at the end of the 2020-21 season, now has four matches to save Leeds, who are currently 17th and just one point above 19th-placed Everton. His first game in charge of the Whites will be away to title-challenging Manchester City on Saturday. They then face Newcastle United (H), West Ham United (A) and Tottenham Hotspur (H).
At a press conference today, Allardyce took aim at preconceptions of his tactics and likened his credentials with the highest calibre of managers in the Premier League.
"Far too many people think I am old and antiquated, which is so far from the truth," said Allardyce. "I may be 68 and look old but there's nobody ahead of me in football terms, not Pep (Guardiola), not (Jurgen) Klopp, not (Mikel) Arteta, so it's all there with me.
"I share what they do and I do what I do but in terms of knowledge and depth of knowledge, I'm up there with them - I'm not saying I'm better than them - but certainly as good as they are.
"I just wish sometimes you get the opportunity that you can show but that's not going to happen for me now apart from if I keep Leeds up and if this club was big enough to build a team that was going to challenge the big boys eventually, but that's a long story away."
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