New England manager backed to succeed in new job
Micky Mellon has backed Sam Allardyce to do well in his new position as England manager.The two have known each other for many years and have kept in regular contact since Allardyce signed Mellon when he was manager at Blackpool in 1994.
After days of speculation Allardyce was named England manager this afternoon and Micky is pleased that his friend has been trusted with such an important position.
“I’m really, really pleased for him because it’s such a big honour for him and I know how much he would want to lead his country,” said Micky.
“He’s a very patriotic guy and will definitely want to represent the English game in the right way and represent the values it undoubtedly has.
“He will bring his own qualities into that position to try and get England playing that way.
“It’s such a nice thing to be able to talk about and in the same breath say Sam Allardyce is the England manager because I know how much it will mean to him and dreams do come true.
“I know the ups and downs that he has had on the way and I’ve been part of that journey since he took me to Blackpool as a 20 year old.
“I spoke to him last week and was with him at the races not long ago and I’m pleased that a guy is in there who will represent those English football values and he will add his own touch on that to get the best out of those players.”
Over the years within football circles Allardyce has always been seen as a forward thinking manager who is open to embrace new ideas and ways of approaching the game. It’s something Micky saw early in his own career and he believes Big Sam will get the best out of the England players.
“Even 24 years ago when I first met him he was doing things that I hear people talking about doing now,” he added.
“He brought a lot of stuff back with him from America and American Football, things like the moneyball which he learnt about when he was over there.
“One thing about Sam which I think makes him a good manager is that he knows the object of the game, and that is ultimately to win.
“We all get dealt a hand of cards and you play those the best way you can to win and the best managers do that the best.
“If he gets dealt a hand with top quality players, like he did at Bolton in the past, you can see what he is able to do with that.
“He is able to mix in all the ingredients of good players into a formula that wins games of football but will also entertain on its way to doing that.
“He will install a mentality that everyone who represents England will know what they are representing and will certainly be made aware there are a lot of people out there wanting them to do well.”
Over the recent Euro 2016 finals the importance of approaching tournament football with the right attitude and mentality was highlighted by the likes of Wales and Iceland. Micky believes that the new England manager will be able to get the best out of the players in his squad.
“He will work very hard on the team spirit type of things which are so underrated but are so massive,” said Micky.
“He’ll make them into a team both on and off the pitch and he will work hard to achieve that.
“He will get to know his players very well and he will leave no stone unturned to improve his group, and as a player you can ask for no more than that.
“Sam has a great way about him that all the players will know that all he wants is for them to do well.”
The England squad that Allardyce inherits is one that consists of some highly promising youngsters who have a lot of potential. They went into the Euros unbeaten in qualifying and Micky thinks they will be able to learn from the Iceland defeat.
“Without a shadow of a doubt there are some fantastic players in that group and I think England has moved ahead massively,” added Micky.
“I think one result against Iceland has really thrown everything into a massive tailspin but I think there has been a lot of good work done.
“I don’t think you can fling all your toys out the pram because of one performance, of course you have to look at it and why at that time of the tournament did that happen.
“Sam will look at those things and find out why, why did the players allow that to happen at that time and he will work hard to make sure they are mentally prepared should that happen again.
“They are a very young group and they will learn from that and Sam will continue to try and improve the England national team.”
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