Leeds United have put Sam Allardyce in charge for the final four matches of the season in a bid to avoid relegation.
Allardyce takes the helm as head coach at a record ninth different Premier League club, replacing Javi Gracia as Leeds make their second managerial change of 2023, having dismissed Jesse Marsch in February.
🎙️ Watch Sam Allardyce's first press conference as #LUFC head coach https://t.co/E1q4WOLKku
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 3, 2023
The club said yesterday that director of football Victor Orta had also also left.
Allardyce will be assisted by former MK Dons, Charlton Athletic and Oxford United manager Karl Robinson.
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The 68-year-old takes over with Leeds sitting outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone, having lost four of their last five matches and conceded 17 goals in those defeats.
The 23 goals they conceded in April was a Premier League record.
Allardyce arrives with a reputation for guiding clubs in danger of relegation to safety, having finished in the bottom three in only one of his 17 seasons as a Premier League manager.
That solitary relegation came in his last job, at West Bromwich Albion in 2020/21.
Starting on Saturday, Allardyce faces a challenging run of fixtures to preserve Leeds' status as a Premier League club for a third season.
Leeds take on three of the top six sides - Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur - plus relegation rivals West Ham United.
Allardyce was formerly the manager of Newcastle and West Ham.
He will add to his tally of 537 Premier League matches as a manager, the fifth-highest total in the competition.
Allardyce's Premier League record
Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
537 | 178 | 145 | 214 | 631 | 748 |
5 - Sam Allardyce has taken over at a Premier League club during a season on five previous occasions, with all five teams either improving or maintaining their league position come the end of the campaign. Fireman. pic.twitter.com/mldKVSzaJN
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 3, 2023
Most PL matches managed
Manager | Clubs | Matches |
---|---|---|
Arsene Wenger | Arsenal | 828 |
Sir Alex Ferguson | Man Utd | 810 |
David Moyes | Everton, Man Utd, Sunderland, West Ham | 653* |
Harry Redknapp | West Ham, Portsmouth, Spurs, QPR, Southampton | 641 |
Sam Allardyce | Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton, West Brom | 537* |
*current managers