Tough enough for Toon job!

May 20 2007 By Neil Farrington, The Sunday Sun

Sam Allardyce is a new but fully paid-up subscriber to the theory that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

For Newcastle's new manager insists the year of hell he has just lived through has left him tough enough to survive anything at St James's Park.

But Big Sam is also hinting that he would like to walk away from management - and therefore the Magpies - before he turns 57.

Allardyce (right) has spent most of the last 12 months angrily maintaining his innocence against "bung" allegations made by the BBC's Panorama programme.

And several of his signings while Bolton boss have come under the microscope of the Lord Stevens-led Quest inquiry into Premier League transfers.

While Allardyce has always denied any suggestion of wrongdoing, some observers have doubted the wisdom of the Magpies' decision to appoint a manager with such newly-acquired baggage.

But Big Sam is adamant that his recent experiences have done him - and Newcastle - a big favour.

"I've had a very difficult time - a hugely stressful time because my problem was I was always guilty until proven innocent," Allardyce told the Sunday Sun.

"That's not supposed to be the case in this country, but it certainly was for me. But I've come through all that and I've got nothing to hide and it's over and done with.

"What happened has made me a stronger manager."

And stronger than all but a handful, Allardyce insisted.

"My success at Bolton means I know I'm very good at what I do," he added. "There's not many can do it, that's for sure, and there's fewer and fewer can do it now."

But the 52-year-old - he will turn 53 in October - added: "We have to be careful we don't make the job too stressful for managers, because the likes of Paul Jewell and perhaps myself are talking about being only 55 or 56 before retiring.

"You've seen Alan Curbishley taking a break, Martin O'Neill taking a break, Gordon Strachan taking a break - and you could see it happening more often.

"And, more importantly, younger would-be managers might not be encouraged into this field, because those stresses are far too great."

Allardyce himself admits he undergoes regular medical check-ups and encourages his backroom staff to "batter me into doing some exercise" to stay in shape for the job.

But his greatest weapon at Newcastle may be his tongue. And woe betide any player who feels its lash.

All of the big-name managers to have arrived at United during the last decade have left blaming dressing-room discord and whispering campaigns for their failure to end the club's trophy drought.

Allardyce, however, is vowing to put an end to all the back-chatting and back- biting.

"Somebody has to do this job, and I think I've got the right experience and the right credentials for it now," he said.

"And my communication levels are very good at all levels. I can communicate well with the board of directors, I can communicate well with the supporters, I hope I can communicate well with the Press and certainly I can communicate with my staff and my players.

"If I keep everybody well informed and information comes back to me from them in the right way, then we can build something together.

"If it's not like that, then different factions could cause problems. Whispers to the wrong people could end up destroying all that we've built.

"So I will work towards us all communicating in the right way and for the right goal - which is to be very successful."