Allardyce 'not bitter' over sacking

Sam Allardyce insists there is "no point being bitter" as he comes to terms with his departure from Newcastle.Less than 24 hours after leaving the club by mutual consent the 53-year-old vowed to return to football.Asked outside his home if he was bitter, Allardyce said: "No, I don't think so. Once people make a decision, there is nothing you can do about it."There is no point being bitter and twisted about it because that will only affect you, it does not affect the people you have left."For me, it's disappointing and you have to move on with your life."Asked if he knew what had changed since chairman Chris Mort recently expressed his support for him, the manager replied: "I don't know, to be honest with you. You can only ask Chris that and he can only answer that question, not me."In the short-term, Allardyce will head off on a break - exactly what he was doing when the call came from Newcastle last summer - and return ready to prove himself all over again.He said: "For me, it is the future now. I will take a break with my wife and go away, have a little bit of a re-charge of the batteries, come back and then move on with my football career."Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp was an early favourite in the race to replace Allardyce in the Newcastle hotseat, but he has distanced himself from the job sayings he is "happy down on the south coast".Geordie legend Alan Shearer was mentioned in connection with the job and Blackburn boss, Mark Hughes is increasingly being tipped as a possible successor.The Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, reportedly "did not trust" Sam Allardyce's ability to sign the players to turn around Newcastle's flagging seasonThe former Bolton boss enjoyed little success with the new faces he brought in last summer, with the likes of Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Claudio Cacapa and Jose Enrique struggling to make an impact.Ashley backed Allardyce with cash despite the fact he had been appointed before the billionaire's takeover last July.But Paul Kemsley, the former Tottenham vice-chairman, believes Ashley was unwilling to do so again.He said: "Mike took the view that he is in the job, let's see if he can deliver what I want, which is good-quality, attacking football and to win games."Mike has put £250 million into the club and is about to invest more, no doubt, in the window, and I suspect he wants to invest that in his own man and his own team."© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

» More on this story... «

ITN | January 10, 2008

Tags:. .nothing. .window. .decision. .connection. .reserved