Sam Allardyce: New Sunderland boss had doubts about job

New Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce says he had reservations about taking the job on but the lure of the challenge convinced him to accept.

The 60-year-old succeeded Dick Advocaat on Friday, taking charge of a club lying 19th in the Premier League, five points from safety.

"It is in my blood. The challenge is something I need. It is almost an addiction," said Allardyce.

"Waking up and coming in here, it's not work really."

Allardyce is the 13th man to take charge of Sunderland on a permanent or caretaker basis in the last 13 years and is under no illusions over the size of the task.

Sam Allardyce's Premier League record
	Games	Win	Draw	Loss	For	Against	Win %
Bolton	226	80	66	80	275	301	35.4
Newcastle	21	7	5	9	27	33	33.33
Blackburn	76	26	21	29	86	108	34.21
West Ham	114	35	28	51	129	151	30.7
Total	437	148	120	169	517	593	33.87

"It is a big challenge," he said. "Even at this early stage of the season it is clear we are in trouble.

"The fact that we have 30 games will be as important as anything else because it may take the vast majority of them to get safe. It can take such a long time to catch up.

"My job is hopefully not to get into that panic and fear zone where there are a few games left and if you don't win, you get relegated. I have some time now to try and sort that out as quickly as I can."

When asked if there were any reservations about taking on the job given the turnover of managers in recent years, Allardyce said: "Yes, I think there was."

But he stressed a "key element" of taking the job on was a belief he could work with owner Ellis Short to make the club successful.

"I'm not saying we're going to be friends, I'm not saying we're not going to disagree. But what I am saying is we're going to try and make the right decisions for the benefit of the club," he added.