Sam Allardyce has urged Leeds to produce their best defensive display of the season in his first game in charge on Saturday at Manchester City.
The former England boss, 68, has four games remaining to try and preserve Leeds’ Premier League status after replacing Javi Gracia on Wednesday.
Allardyce, who will be back in the dugout for the first time since leaving West Brom in 2021, said: “Defensively the team will have to be the best it’s been this season.
“Obviously it’s been a bit frail and we’re going to try and put that right while we’ve been here.
“In possession I’ve always seen them to be very, very good, so there’s not a lot of work needs to be done from that point of view.
“But out of possession recently, as everyone can see by the goals conceded, it’s something that needs most work on in the short time we’ve had.”
Leeds sit above the relegation zone on goal difference and the former Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland and Everton boss said he was delighted with the players’ reaction to his survival plan.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said. “The players have aired their views and that’s important for me.
“We’ve come together and put a plan together. We’ve analysed the best way we can play on Saturday and listened to a lot of staff already here about players.
“We’ve formulated an idea and we’ll tell them the starting XI later (on Friday) morning.
“They’ve got to do the talking on the pitch now. I can talk here as much as I want, but I want the players to go out and show we’ve made a difference and that they’re passionate enough to fight to the very end.”
Allardyce insists Pep Guardiola’s City, who he rates alongside Manchester United’s Treble-winners of 1999 as the best ever in the English top flight, are closing in on their fifth title in six seasons because of how they defend.
“Why are Man City top of the league? Because they’ve got the best defensive record,” he said.
“City, defensively, are the best at everything. The general public don’t look at that, but that’s why they’re top now.”
Allardyce claimed earlier in the week that he was as good a manager as Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta and in response the City boss agreed.
Guardiola said the current generation of top managers had all learned off the likes of Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock.
“We’ve always got on,” Allardyce added. “He’s a great guy and his knowledge is fantastic. It’s great to be pitting your wits against him.
“His management style over the years has been fabulous and the sad thing for us is they’re in the best form they’ve been in all season because they’ve won nine on the trot.”
Allardyce, who will be without Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Liam Cooper at the Etihad Stadium, admitted he will be anxious ahead of kick-off.
He will return to the dugout for the first time since being relegated from the top flight for the first time in his 30-year managerial career with last club West Brom at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Allardyce added: “The nerves carry on until kick-off, then they disappear for me.
“After the game, who knows, I’d like to be able to smile. That would be one magnificent result, if we get one.”
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
'If we get relegated, I will be here', says Guardiola amid Man City charges
Pep Guardiola insisted he would stay with Manchester City even if the club is relegated as punishment for their alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, signed a new two-year contract extension on Friday, ending speculation over his current deal that was due to expire at the end of the season.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
During his time in charge, the Spaniard has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and their maiden Champions League crown last year.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
However, a hearing into Man City's 115 charges for allegedly breaking the Premier League's rules is also under way, but Guardiola said he will stay regardless of the outcome.
"I said that six months ago. If we get relegated, I will be here and next year we're going to come up to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now," Guardiola said.
He also revealed that he agreed to fresh terms at the Etihad in less than two hours.
"I felt I should stay here. Of course, because they want me. For obvious reasons, for the results and because we've known each other for a long time," he added.
"All my decisions have been like that, what I feel in the moment. I don't pre-convince, I wait. I decided to stay here and in just two hours we did it [agreed the contract]."
City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad this weekend on the back of four consecutive defeats - Guardiola's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
They have also won just three of their last 10 top-flight games against Tottenham (D2 L5) and are looking to win consecutive meetings with them for the first time since April 2019.
Despite their run of form, Guardiola was quick to point out his side's recent success, most notably becoming the first team to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
"When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations," Guardiola said.
"You're able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time, you're able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
"The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it happened.
"Did it happen in one season? No. When you've been somewhere eight or nine years, yeah, both sides of the run can happen."
Slot: Guardiola contract is 'good news' for Premier League
Arne Slot believes it is "good news" for the Premier League that Pep Guardiola has signed a contract extension with Manchester City.
The Spaniard signed a two-year extension with the reigning champions and will remain in the dugout at the Etihad until 2027.
He has won 18 major trophies in his time at City, including six Premier League titles, and twice beat Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to the top-flight crown by a single point.
Guardiola averages 2.35 points per game in the Premier League, the highest rate of any manager (20+ matches). Indeed, he is so far ahead of the next highest (Alex Ferguson's 2.16), he could lose his next 26 league games in a row and would still be top.
Slot is yet to face City since taking over from Klopp at the start of the season, with the rivals' first meeting of the season set for December 1.
"It's good news for City and for the league because everyone wants the best managers and the best players over here," Slot said when asked about Guardiola's new contract.
"He is definitely one of the best managers, maybe the best manager of the league.
"He's won four titles in a row, so it's fair to say he's maybe the best manager in the league.
"On the other hand, they have so many quality players that, if he would have made the choice to leave, I wouldn't have expected them to end up bottom of the league next season."
Other Premier League managers echoed Slot's sentiment, with Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, who inflicted a fourth consecutive defeat on City before the international break, saying it is the "best thing that can happen to the Premier League".
"He is one of the best coaches in the world," Hurzeler said. "With his ideas, he always brings something new to the football stage, and it is always a challenge to compete against him.
"He always adapts quickly, always has new ideas and he can always win the game. I'm very happy because we can learn from him and to compete with him is a big, big experience."
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe added: "He's contributed so much to English football. He's revolutionised how a lot of teams play.
"I think he's incredibly talented, and it's good for the English game that he's still here.
"He will continue to develop and evolve his style, and people will potentially continue to follow that. From the competition side, I think it keeps the Premier League as the best in the world."
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