Sam Allardyce has experienced play-off joy, relegation battles and life as England manager, so he knows a thing or two about pressure.
On a recent visit to UCFB Etihad Campus to speak to students, the former Bolton Wanderers boss candidly spoke about his career as a player and manager, most notably in the Premier League where he has managed seven different clubs.
Invariably Allardyce has been brought in by each club, including Everton, Crystal Palace and Sunderland, to help save them when struggling at the foot of the Premier League table. His record of never being relegated as a manager is one he is rightfully proud of, especially with the pressure that comes in such demanding situations. Over the years and through each club, Allardyce has built his own mechanisms and coping strategies through those experiences.
He told students: “The pressures in football are one that, until you’ve actually experienced it, you can take a lot of advice out from to deal and cope with it. But when that experience comes along it’s about reassessing, addressing it, and saying what could I do or could I have done differently? [You need to] then learn from that experience.”
The former Newcastle manager has been one of the louder voices in the game when it comes to building a strong team off the pitch of coaches, analysts and anyone who can gain his team that extra 1%. This includes sports psychologists.
Allardyce added: “There’s obviously a lot that is said about dealing with pressure, and certainly you can link up with the right psychologist – they have a massive impact if you have the right relationship with them. Certainly speaking to someone with the right qualifications and knowledge can help you get through and manage difficult periods better, as it did with me in my early years at Bolton.”
Speaking to students about their time at UCFB and looking ahead to their careers in football and sport, Allardyce added: “Any education you’ve got towards having a career in football is a massive opportunity. I think that it’s a great thing to see that the next level of staff across the world of football may come from something like UCFB.”
