Sam Allardyce: Former Premier League boss has his say on Tottenham’s relegation battle, Igor Tudor and Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest sacking | Football News

Sam Allardyce has said that Tottenham’s players need reminding of their responsbility to the club if they want to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

Spurs sacked manager Thomas Frank last week and have replaced him with interim coach Igor Tudor, with the club sat 16th in the Premier League, five points off the relegation zone.

Tudor will be thrown straight into the fire with a North London derby against league leaders Arsenal kicking off a tough run of fixtures that also includes a trip to Liverpool.

While the Croatian will be hoping to make an immediate impact, Allardyce, who steered four teams away from the drop after being appointed mid-season, believes the onus is on the players more than the new interim coach.

“We can all claim we did this and did that before the first game we managed, but we haven’t done that much really,” Allardyce told Sky Sports.

“What we hope for is that the players go out and prove themselves. Why shouldn’t you give 100 million per cent when you earn 150 grand a week? You get the best food and one of the best facilities in the country at Tottenham – and don’t give your 110 percent? You should be kicked out of the club if you don’t.”

Tudor will not have a large squad to pick from when he first takes charge against the Gunners, with 11 senior players out injured, but Allardyce was not accepting that as an excuse for the players to not give their all in the run-in

“It’s a God-given right. That’s what you do for the football club: blood, sweat and tears, That’s a given,” Allardyce added. “That shouldn’t even have to be demanded or asked for. But it looks like it is.”

‘Frank will come back better; Dyche unlucky to be sacked’

Frank left Spurs with a win rate of just 26.9 per cent, the worst in the Premier Leaue for the club. However, Allardyce has backed the “brilliant coach” to learn from the experience and bounce back stronger.

“Thomas experienced what it’s like to manage a big club for the first time,” Allardyce said.

“It’s different. I’ve done it at Everton, Newcastle, West Ham. There’s a different type of mentality and pressure.

“I think he’s obviously proved he’s a brilliant coach. The experience he’s gained, if he gets another opportunity, he will be better for it once he’s analysed what he did and didn’t do.

“Thomas will reappear in the Premier League somewhere. He’ll certainly not have to wait to get a job.”

While Tudor is the new man through the door at Tottenham, Sean Dyche was shown the exit at Nottingham Forest shortly after and replaced by Vitor Pereira, a decision Allardyce puts down to a case of bad luck.

“[In the 0-0 draw with Wolves they had] 35 attempts at goal and he gets sacked,” Allardyce added.

“Normally, that’s 4-0, 5-0. Normally. It looked like it would be, but didn’t materialise.

“Some bad misses and some worldie saves. He wouldn’t have got sacked if he’d have won. Sean was unfortunate, but he knows the owner. He’s prepared to face that.

“We know what we get with the owner and we move on. We accept it. It won’t stop him getting another job.”

Spurs and Forest hires ‘a risk’

In Tudor, Spurs have hired a coach with no Premier League experience, while Forest have opted to replace Dyche with Pereira, who was sacked by Wolves in November with the club having picked up just two points from their opening 10 Premier League games.

“Any coach going in at this stage, it’s a risk. It’s a challenge,” Allardyce claimed. “You’ve got to find out what the problems are – and there are problems – as quick as you can.

“They just need to simplify things. If you’re conceding too many goals, try to stop that. If you’re not scoring enough, try and improve that. Then we’ll start going in the right direction.”

“They [the players] need to take to what they’re trying to achieve. And it needs to be done overnight. That’s how hard the job is.”