Nigeria link ‘a bubble of rumour’, says Allardyce

West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, insists he’s not nearing the end of his stay with the Hammers and that any link with the Super Eagles job is nothing but “a bubble of rumour and speculation”.

Allardyce’s future remains uncertain under co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan with his contract expiring at the end of the season.

But Big Sam, as he’s called by admirers and loathers alike, refuses to discuss his future beyond his current contract.

“At the last count I believe I’ve been linked with three jobs this week: Sunderland, QPR and Nigeria,” he wrote in his weekly column with a UK tabloid.

“The first thing I have to say is that, in case no one noticed, I still have a job here at West Ham. The season is far from over, there are 27 points at stake and it’s time we began helping ourselves to some of them.

“I understand why the speculation is there, of course I do. Everyone knows my contract with the club expires at the end of June and, as yet, nothing further has been decided. I would stress that, providing everyone is happy, I would like to stay at West Ham. They are a great club, moving in the right direction and a lot is now in place for sustained improvement.”

The former Bolton manager now points the link to the Super Eagles job to his former player – Austin Okocha.

“A bubble of rumour and speculation is created and, really, it’s one we could all do without, particularly when one short, unsubstantiated tweet can quickly become ‘fact’ to a lot of people. I presume the Nigeria connection, for example, is because Jay Jay Okocha, who played for me at Bolton, and is now involved in football in that country,” he said.

“For me, Jay Jay is a top man, one of the best I’ve met and Nigeria’s equivalent to David Beckham in his stature and the esteem he commands in his homeland. Here’s a small sample of the man. He can speak four different languages, he was seen as flamboyant on the field of play but off it, he is very calm, collected, family orientated and quite a religious person.

“He also has had the intelligence to learn valuable lessons from wherever life has taken him, from Nigeria to Germany, Turkey, France and then England.”

Only time will tell though if Big Sam’s career will take a reverse route – from England to Nigeria.