By George Overhill

11th Feb, 2023 | 9:10pm

Sam Allardyce ready to discuss Leeds United job if he receives the call amid faltering manager hunt

Sam Allardyce says he “certainly” wouldn’t turn down Leeds United if they call him about the vacant manager’s job and is ready to talk it over if they do.

The Premier League veteran, and one-game former England manager, made clear that there has been no contact from Elland Road and doesn’t seem confident that there will be.

But as the search to replace Jesse Marsch approaches the end of its first week, the 68-year-old former Bolton, Everton and Blackburn Rovers manager has told anyone interested in his services to call him because he is ready to chat, including Leeds United.

Asked on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast (10 February, 8min) by Natalie Pike if he would be interested in the Elland Road job he said: “I would have thought by now if they were interested in me, and I always say this, ‘Are you interested in Sam Allardyce?’ You know where I am.

“So call me. Of course if somebody called me I wouldn’t turn down going in and chatting away with them, certainly not Leeds United, but there has been no call.”

Unlikely

If Big Sam landed the Leeds United job at this point in his career it would be a major late swan song when he has spent five months in management since May of 2018, and that entailed being relegated with West Brom.

Prior to that he did have an outstanding record of avoiding the drop as a Premier League boss, even if his heyday of regular top half finishes and qualifying for Europe with Bolton is now close to two decades ago.

Given the size of Leeds United and the ambition that has been shown by both the summer and the January transfer windows, it is therefore no surprise that Allardyce would be receptive to an advance about the job.

But it doesn’t seem like the sort of fit that the board, the fans, or the incoming 49ers administration really have in mind for the future of this club.

Having said that, Jesse Marsch very much was seen as that around Elland Road and his reign didn’t really lead anywhere tangible in terms of the league table, while the primary candidates in the week since the American was sacked appear to be out of reach until at least the summer.

Whether somebody in Allardyce’s mould might come into consideration for the final four months of the season to at least secure Premier League survival will probably depend on the next week leading up to the clash with Sean Dyche’s Everton on 18 February.

If there hasn’t been enough positive movement in that time then it will be necessary to consider emergency short-term options, although even then it is anything but a certainty that Big Sam’s name would find its way onto the list.

In other Leeds United news, click here to see breaking, around-the-clock updates on Leeds’ search for a new manager in our interactive live blog.