Allardyce backs Mclaren

Sam Allardyce has distanced himself from the England manager's job after launching a passionate defence of his good friend Steve McClaren. Allardyce has been quoted as a 25-1 shot to replace McClaren should he lose his job.

"Yes, certainly for me personally, because I am very friendly with Steve and I would never talk about anybody else's position while they are in the job.

"He should be allowed to see it through to the end. We are not out of it. We have still got the opportunity to get there - I know we have to rely on somebody else first, but that's football.

"It can happen and it can give us a lifeline, and I am sure we will take it.

"The performance was very, very good. Tactically, it was spot-on and after that, you are relying as a manager on what happens on the pitch.

"They key areas in split-seconds make or break you and the three key areas for me were Steven Gerrard's unfortunate miss which would have made it 2-0, the penalty which wasn't, and then, of course, them scoring the second goal almost immediately after that.

"You have got all this hysteria which revolves around it. It really doesn't matter how well or badly England played anymore, you know what you are going to get, and Steve, unfortunately, is getting it."