Sam Allardyce credits Ellis Short for his role in 'real success' at Sunderland

Although it was frustratingly short-lived, Sam Allardyce says he loved his 'fabulous journey' at Sunderland.

Author:
Lynsey Thompson
Publish date:
Jan 24, 2023 11:02 AM EST

Sam Allardyce has described his time in charge of Sunderland as ‘a fabulous journey and real success,’ while credited Ellis Short for his role in it.

Allardyce had a short spell in charge of the Black Cats during the 2015/16 season, with him taking over a desperate situation and leading them to survival in the Premier League.

His time was cut short when England came calling leaving something of a ‘what if’ feeling among supporters.

However, his time on Wearside was one he cherished, and he says the role of former owner Ellis Short in turning around that season should not be underestimated by supporters.

“It was a nice place to go back to having played at the club and having worked at the club under Peter Reid as a youth coach,” Allardyce told World of Football Index.

“The Sunderland fans are incredibly passionate and what they desperately wanted to see was a good, honest, hard-working team who would play for them each and every week.

“The results needed to improve at the club as they were in a precarious position but with the backing of the owner, Ellis Short, I was able to recruit players in the January window such as Lamine Kone, Jan Kirchhoff and Wahbi Khazri who were instrumental in our success in the second half of the season.

“You need backing in a relegation battle because you have such a short time to get it right and you need the full support of the owner, recruitment staff, your backroom staff and the players to pull together as one.

“Thankfully, we were able to do that quite quickly but it was not always easy.”

Despite the happy end to the season, things definitely looked grim at one point while the new signings were settling in.

Jan Kirchhoff had a particularly tough baptism of fire, but Allardyce says he never doubted the German.

“I remember putting Jan Kirchhoff on as a substitute at Tottenham and he had a tough game which led to him being slaughtered and me being slaughtered in the press.

“However, I knew the quality of Jan and I backed him to find his feet and he certainly did that. Lamine Kone became a dominant centre-half who regularly won his battles in the Premier League.

“My job at Sunderland was similar to that at Blackburn in terms of how we had to recruit and improve what we already had to survive.

“The only difference at Blackburn was that they were taken over by new owners who did not want me. That was a great decision considering where they ended up, wasn’t it…

“Sunderland was a fabulous journey and anytime that I go back, the fans are great with me. The fans sold the ground out even when we were in a relegation battle and up against it.

“They are unbelievably committed and they helped us get over the line without doubt.

“The last few weeks of the season emphasised that as we played Chelsea and took the lead then lost it on a couple of occasions but they drove us over the line in the end. We then followed that up by beating Everton convincingly then Watford.

“We only lost one out of the last 11 games which is remarkable given where we came in. It was a great journey and staying up in those circumstances is a real success.

“You do not have the best team in the league and you only have a short period of time to get them safe. Every game is pressurised and it is tough each and every week.

“It was a great feeling at the end of the season because everyone contributed to that success.

“Of course, as a manager, you get the credit just as you get the criticism when it doesn’t go well but it is important that you recognise everyone who contributed to the success, and we did that.”

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