What we learned from Allardyce

Sam Allardyce gave his first press conference as England manager at St George’s Park on Monday.

The 61-year-old addressed the issue of a disappointing Euro 2016, his plans for the future and the England captaincy.

Here, we pick out five things we learned…

No Rooney promise

While Jose Mourinho was keen to stress that Wayne Rooney would remain as Manchester United’s captain, Allardyce made no such promises that the country’s record goalscorer would retain the role of England’s skipper that he’s held since the summer of 2014.

Roy Hodgson had a close relationship with Rooney but some saw this as a problem once other forwards emerged. Allardyce is not bound by those commitments. “It’s far too early to make any predictions,” he said, leaving the opportunity open for a fresh start.

Youth is no excuse

It’s clear that Allardyce is looking forward to working with the finished article and has little truck with the notion of an England senior side showing potential. “It’s not potential anymore,” he said. “It’s got to be …

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