Sam Allardyce jokingly backs himself to replace under-fire Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho
Former England manager quipped 'I'll have £1 on myself' when told he is 100/1 to replace current Old Trafford chief
SAM ALLARDYCE has jokingly backed himself to take over from under-fire Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese is walking an Old Trafford tightrope after last night's seismic 3-0 defeat at home to Spurs.
Not only was it Mourinho's biggest ever home defeat - it is also Man Utd's worst start to a season in 25 years.
It appears the self-appointed Special One could be close to a spectacular exit - although the United board still back him.
Former England manager Allardyce, 63, was a guest on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT when he was informed he is 100/1 to replace Mourinho.
Told of the long-shot odds, he quipped: "I'll have £1 on myself!"
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Allardyce also delivered a defence of Mourinho's tactics, which were rendered useless in the face of Lucas Moura's double and a Harry Kane header.
He insisted United were victims of a "freak result".
Big Sam said: "I'll tell you the stats and why Man Utd were so good.
"United had 57 per cent possession, 23 shots at goal and five on target.
"Tottenham had 43 per cent possession, nine shots on goal and five on target.
"It's only about Tottenham's finishing that got them the victory. Normally that result would not happen.
"So is it a freak result? When you’ve had 23 shots at your own place and you have not scored, that is not the manager’s fault. But the manager always gets blamed at the end of the day.
"Mourinho has set his team up to attack, they’ve created enough chances and opportunities to win the game comfortably, they failed to take those chances and they ended up being sucker punched by some pretty poor defending.
"It’s alright saying it’s a disaster, yes it is, because it’s 3-0.
"But if you’re a manager, you’d be saying to your players: ‘Cut the silly mistakes out, keep getting this possession rate and shot rate, and we will win far more games than we’ll lose’.
"All the hysteria around the result because it’s 3-0 – nobody is looking at the real facts!
"The facts are, United did create more than Tottenham, they did outplay Tottenham, but unfortunately they missed their chances and their slack defending and some brilliant finishing from Tottenham was the difference."