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Big Sam fires Everton into top half
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Everton manager Sam Allardyce鈥檚 ability to quickly get teams out of relegation trouble is the defining characteristic of his management career but his impact at Goodison Park has been so swift he is already looking at a top-half finish.
Everton鈥檚 3-1 win over Swansea City on Monday pushed the Merseysiders up to ninth in the English Premier League and the worries of a long scrap against the drop already seem a distant memory.
鈥淭he target now? Top half but let鈥檚 not get carried away,鈥 said former England manager Allardyce after second-half goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney, with a penalty, had secured a comeback win over the bottom-placed Welsh club.
Everton was in the relegation zone when it sacked Dutchman Ronald Koeman on October 23 following a humiliating 2-5 loss at home to Arsenal.
The club鈥檚 Under-23 coach David Unsworth then had an extended spell as caretaker manager during which he managed just two wins in eight games.
Unsworth鈥檚 second and final win, a 4-0 success against West Ham United, came with Allardyce already watching from the stands and, while he was not on the bench for that game, he is making sure that victory counts on his record.
Since formally taking the role, Everton has beaten Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United and drawn at local rival Liverpool before Monday鈥檚 win.
鈥淭o collect 13 out of 15 points is great considering the position where we鈥檝e come from,鈥 said Allardyce. 鈥淲e鈥檝e scored 11 goals in five games and kept clean sheets. We are a team that comes back from 1-0 down to win and that shows the character.鈥
Allardyce, 63, has never had a team of his relegated from the EPL, despite working with clubs such as Sunderland and Crystal Palace who were in deep trouble when he took over.
He managed to maintain top-flight football for clubs such as Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers and took West Ham back into the EPL 鈥 and kept it there 鈥 after its relegation.
Focusing on solid defending and good organization has again brought results for the man dubbed 鈥淔ireman Sam鈥 but he said his assistants, such as former Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare and veteran coach Sammy Lee, deserved their share of the credit.
鈥淔rom a tactical point of view, I鈥檝e simplified the game and I鈥檓 man-managing the players. I brought some experienced and talented staff with me, along with the rest of the staff 鈥 I want everyone to get better. To turn around so quickly is great credit to everyone. Not just me.鈥
鈥淲hat looked like a desperate situation is becoming a comfortable one. And now people are looking up the table rather than down. The last clubs I took over were tougher to turn around initially,鈥 he said.
The next test for Everton comes against third-placed champion Chelsea at Goodison on Saturday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to try and get a result against Chelsea and then we鈥檒l really know what we鈥檙e made of,鈥 added Allardyce.
鈥淲ith this confidence, if we can get a result we鈥檙e on the right track for finishing as high as we can. Let鈥檚 see if the lads can pull one out of the bag.鈥
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