Newcastle Boss Finally Rules Himself Out England Job – Good news at last?

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“Sam Allardyce has ruled himself out of the running in the race to find Steve McClaren’s successor as England boss.

The 53-year-old Newcastle manager, who came close to landing the job after Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure, was quick to distance himself from the new vacancy following McClaren’s exit on Thursday morning.

He said: “I am contracted to Newcastle United and from my point of view, that contract needs to be honoured.”

Surely the only people who want Allardyce to become England manager (apart from Kevin Nolan) are a growing number of disaffected Newcastle United fans. After a 3-1 win at Bolton on the opening day of the season, the Magpies have had a distinctly average campaign to date, sitting in their customary mid-table league position.

They barely deserved a draw away at Sunderland a fortnight ago, while United’s last home match was the embarrassing 4-1 reverse against Portsmouth which saw ‘Big Sam’s’ team go one better than England the other night and ship three in fifteen minutes.

Sam Allardyce needs to get his house in order quickly at St James’ Park rather than make any comments linking him to the England role. His next three matches are against Liverpool, Blackburn and Arsenal – it could be a tough winter for the former Blackpool and NottsCounty boss.