Report: 68-year-old interested in replacing Victor Orta as Leeds’ director of football

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Sam Allardyce is interested in becoming Leeds United’s new director of football after the club confirmed that he would not continue as manager.

That is according to a report from The Sun on Sunday (4/6; page 60), which suggests that Allardyce had hoped to help the club try and find their next manager following relegation.

Leeds announced this week that Sam Allardyce has left by mutual consent following the final four games of the season. Of course, he had been unable to keep the Whites in the Premier League.

Allardyce made some strange decisions during his four games in charge. His call to include six defenders in his final day team selection will live long in the memory of supporters for all the wrong reasons. But he was hardly responsible for the mess the club finds itself in.

Allardyce interested in Leeds director of football role

So there did seem to be a chance that he may stay on in the Championship. And it would appear that Allardyce had that in mind too – just not as the manager.

According to The Sun on Sunday (4/6; page 60), Allardyce had been keen to take another role within the club such as director of football.

It is not clear whether Leeds considered the possibility. But the fact that they confirmed his exit as manager this week hints that he is unlikely to return in any capacity.

Allardyce did receive some plaudits during his time at Leeds. His appointment appeared to instil some much-needed positivity in the squad. And there were some encouraging signs, with the fight shown late on against Manchester City, and in the draw with Newcastle.

But he has never officially been a director of football. He will probably argue that he has done many of the things the job entails for years anyway. But Leeds need to rediscover an exciting identity that the fans can buy into.

Allardyce does not deserve to be put alongside some of the infamously bad managers Leeds have had down the years. But it does feel like the right call to try and go in a very different direction to almost anything that happened this past season.