Ex-England manager Sam Allardyce admits 'error of judgment'

Sam Allardyce admitted an "error of judgment" on Wednesday after his career as England manager came to a humiliating end following controversial comments made to undercover reporters.

"Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that," Allardyce told reporters outside his home in Bolton, northwest England.

Allardyce added he had simply been helping out a long-standing associate. 

"I think that on reflection it was a silly thing to do," he said. 

"But just to let everybody know, I sort of helped out what was somebody I'd known for 30 years (football agent Scott McGarvey).
"Unfortunately it was an error of judgment on my behalf and I've paid the consequences," he added, the morning after he was forced out of the England job following a mere 67 days in charge of the national side.

Amid reports he had a received a £1 million ($1.3 million, 1.1 million euros) pay-off, Allardyce apologised to England's governing Football Association, his former employers, as he refused to rule out a future role in football. 

"The agreement was done very amicably with the FA and I apologise to those and all concerned in the unfortunate position I've put myself in," he added.

"I have a confidentiality agreement and I can't answer any more questions. I am going to go and reflect on it."

Allardyce also wished England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate, who has been put in charge of the senior team's next four matches, well for the future.

"I would like to wish Gareth and all of the England lads the best."

Asked if the England job would be his last in football, former Bolton and Newcastle manager Allardyce replied: "Who knows. We'll wait and see."

Allardyce's England reign was sensationally brought to a close as he paid the price for indiscreetly talking with undercover Daily Telegraph reporters posing as Far East businessmen. 

The 61-year-old was secretly filmed giving advice on how to circumnavigate transfer rules, criticised the FA's decision to rebuild Wembley and mocked his England predecessor Roy Hodgson. 

Allardyce, appointed England manager in July on a £3-million-a-year contract, also agreed to travel to Singapore and Hong Kong as an ambassador for their fictitious firm for a fee of £400,000. 

Allardyce and the FA agreed his position was untenable, leaving him with no choice but to walk away from the dream job he coveted for over a decade.

Source: AFP