England

Kevin Davies: 'Sam Allardyce would suit England'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 13 July 2016

Former Bolton and England striker Kevin Davies insists that Sam Allardyce has the "tactical nous" to succeed as the national team's manager.

Former Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies has insisted that Sam Allardyce has the "tactical nous" to succeed as England manager.

Allardyce was interviewed by the Football Association about the vacant post yesterday having previously been overlooked in favour of Steve McClaren in 2006.

The 61-year-old's experience at the very highest level has been questioned amid speculation that he could succeed Roy Hodgson, but Davies, who played under Allardyce at Bolton and made one appearance for England, believes that he will be well suited to the team following their poor showings at the last two major tournaments.

"People will tarnish him because of the clubs he has managed, but he has the tactical nous and he has won a lot of games against the big clubs," Davies told the BBC World Service.

"I think he has always thrived on being the underdog and I think England are going to go into a lot of games as underdogs in the future, so it probably will suit the way England are at the moment."

Hodgson left his role as England boss in the immediate wake of the team's humiliating Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland last month.