LONDON: Sam Allardyce, whose season began amid the prestige of being England manager, has ended with his resignation as boss of Crystal Palace after managing to keep them in the Premier League.

Allardyce replaced Alan Pardew in December on a two-and-half-year deal with the Eagles one point above the relegation zone.

The 62-year-old, who had an ill-fated one-game spell as England boss, led the club to eight wins in 21 games to guide them to a 14th-place finish.

In a statement, Allardyce said: “I have no ambitions to take another job. I want to be able to savour life while I am still relatively young, and when I am still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager.

“This is the right time for me. I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.”

Manager hunt

Allardyce told chairman Steve Parish in London on Tuesday. The Eagles are now looking for their eighth manager in seven years while the former Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham boss maintained his record of never being relegated from the Premier League.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Harry Redknapp and David Moyes have managed more games in the Premier League.

Allardyce’s final game in charge of Palace came on Sunday, a 2-0 loss at Manchester United, having guaranteed safety the previous week by thrashing Hull 4-0.

Allardyce left his post as England manager by mutual agreement in September after only one match in charge. This followed a Daily Telegraph investigation claiming he offered advice on how to “get around” rules on player transfers.

The FA said Allardyce’s conduct “was inappropriate”. He apologised, adding “entrapment had won”.

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