Sam Allardyce shuts down journalist in first West Brom press conference

He said: “What we have got to do is manage our way through this spell, over Christmas and New Year, and the pandemic, and me giving the opportunity to the players to win as many games as possible as quickly as I can.

“At Sunderland it worked early on, and then we had a dip. At Palace, I didn’t win in the first six and they were asking whether I was the right man.

“What I hope for is the stimulation of a new manager which can lift the team. You want the players to say ‘I have to play my best because I want the new manager to pick me’.

“Hopefully they can do that on Sunday, that’d be fantastic.