Sam Allardyce was left angry by comments made by West Ham striker Michail Antonio after already-relegated West Brom were beat 3-1 on the night.
West Brom’s defeat also came with the news that Allardyce would be stepping down as manager at the end of the season.
During his post-match interview, Allardyce addressed his reason for leaving the club, while also taking issue with Antonio’s assessment of his side’s style of play.
What did Antonio say?
In his own post-match interview, Antonio described the Baggies’ approach as “big guys, hitting the channel,” before adding, “you know how Sam always plays.”
? "Big guys, hitting the channel, you know how Sam always plays."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 19, 2021
Michail Antonio on West Brom & Sam Allardyce's style of play pic.twitter.com/lj5BC2Xwcx
Allardyce’ response
“He insulted me and my team,” the 66-year-old told Sky Sports.
“I know he’s a nice lad but it’s disgusting what he said. I think he should go back and watch the game and see how really played. Our front two are 5ft 10 and 5ft 9 so I don’t know what big men he saw running in the channel.”
The manager then went on to address the stereotype which surrounds his management style when asked why he wouldn’t be staying in the role beyond this season and whether he now saw himself as a short-term solution for teams.
“I haven’t been more than that for the last six to seven years because it’s all you lot talk about. Just like Michail Antonio said, “it’s Sam, we’re long ball. It’s Sam, the way we play.”
"It's disgusting what Michail Antonio said." ?
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 19, 2021
Sam Allardyce was unhappy with comments from the #WHUFC striker about #WBA's style of football tonight and believes he doesn't get the credit he deserves as a manager. pic.twitter.com/KFN7VnjiGU
“It is a load of crap and it always has been a load of crap because I’ve never played the same at any club I’ve been at and if you thought that was long ball today then somebody is deluded.
“We played long ball against Liverpool because it was the right way to play and should have got a result against them. They didn’t like it.
“But it shows everybody that if you play a simple game against Liverpool you can get at them, you can get behind them and you can get chances.
“They’ve gone and beat Burnley 3-0 tonight and they were dead lucky to beat us the other night, dead lucky. Today, West Ham did deserve to beat us 3-1, but that was our fault and not anybody else’s.”
Featured image credit: Sky Sports
