Allardyce determined to be the best – Davies

Kevin Davies believes Sam Allardyce’s man management skills and attention to detail will help him to be a success as England manager.

The Football Association confirmed Allardyce as the successor to Roy Hodgson on Friday, with the outgoing Sunderland boss agreeing a two-year deal running until the end of the 2018 World Cup.

Davies played under Allardyce for four seasons at Bolton Wanderers and the centre-forward spoke in glowing terms as his former boss, who takes on a post he missed out on a decade ago when Steve McClaren was appointed for an ill-fated tenure.

“He’s one of those managers that you want to play for,” Davies told Sky Sports News.

“He’s a big personality. He knows exactly when to push you, when to give you the carrot, when you crack the whip.

“His man management skills are second to none. He gets the best out of you as an individual and also as a team. I’m delighted for him and I’m sure he’s going to be a success

“I think this is something that he’s been thinking about for a number of years. I feel he will have plans in place. Looking at the tournaments, I think he knows what has gone wrong and how he can make it better for us.”

There is plenty to analyse in that regard, with England having won one of their past eight matches at major tournaments, culminating in a humiliating Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland.

Davies, who won his solitary England cap in 2010, is certain Allardyce can pull together a national team whose confidence is likely to be at a low ebb ahead of September’s opening qualifier for Russia 2018 in Slovakia in September.

“The first thing that strikes you about him is his ambition, his determination to be the best, and that filters through to the players,” the 39-year-old explained.

“He puts steel into the team. He galvanises a squad of players and a dressing room, and if anyone goes against that they are quickly found out and will find themselves out of the squad.

“He will pick players for the squad, not based only on their ability but on what they can bring to the team as well – their personalities. He looks at all those kind of things in close detail.

“He will look at the whole chemistry within the team and I firmly believe he will be a success.”