Bolton coach favours Dubai for winter break

Dubai: Sam Allardyce the punters' favourite to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson as the next England coach said Dubai was in a fantastic position to attract Premier League sides wanting a break from their hectic schedules.

The Bolton Wanderers coach brought his side to Dubai last week to prepare for the business end of the European season and was a picture of contentment when he spoke to Gulf News at the Jebel Ali International Centre of Excellence.

"This is the fourth time we've been here and it's always been a great stay," said Allardyce. "As a club we always like to finish the season strongly and Dubai gives us a great opportunity to get refreshed.

"We've got the best facilities here at Jebel Ali, they're isolated and it's ideal that we get a break from the cold weather. The boys can also go for a swim after training if they want or go for a massage."

Centre of Excellence Academy director Mick Leonard said the facility had been built with professional European football clubs in mind. "Dubai is a growing city and is becoming more of a destination for European teams because of facilities like this where you can come and have access to a lovely beach and a golf course," said Leonard.

While his players enjoyed the change of scenery, Allardyce appeared relieved to get away from England and the constant talk of the biggest coaching job in Britain.

Calls for Allardyce to be promoted into the England coaching job have intensified in the last month as fans and administrators have become more aware of his sensational record at Bolton.

In three seasons, Bolton have gone from the relegation end of the table to being a constant threat for a place in the Champions League and most of this success is due to Allardyce's impeccable man-management skills.

Jack Chapman, Bolton's head scout, has been in football for 50 years and he said Allardyce was one of the best coaches he'd seen.

"He's just a tremendous man manager. I mean, we've got 15 different nationalities in our team and he can handle them all," said Chapman.

"And that means he can get the best out of them."

THE ALLARDYCE EDGE

• At training, Sam Allardyce has all his players on heart monitors so he can keep constant track of how much effort they are putting in.
• During games, Allardyce uses Prozone technology to track player movements. The technology shows exactly what players did throughout the match and equates how effective they were.
• There are players of 15 different nationalities in the Bolton side and Allardyce has to find a way to get the most out of them.
• Several Bolton players were involved in the African Nations Cup so Allardyce sent five club representatives to ensure his players got proper treatment.
• Allardyce picks players that have something to prove like Jay-Jay Okocha and Liverpool discard Kevin Nolan.