BOLTON: Sam Allardyce flew out of England on Wednesday after expressing regret over “silly” unguarded comments to undercover journalists that cost him the England manager’s job.

While apologising for his indiscretions, Allardyce complained about “entrapment” by the Daily Telegraph that made his England job untenable after only 67 days and one match in charge.

A covert video showed Allardyce appearing to offer advice to fictitious businessmen on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice and also to negotiate a 400,000-pound ($519,000) public-speaking contract to top up an annual England salary of 3 million pounds ($4 million).

A further video showed Allardyce mocking predecessor Roy Hodgson, who was fired after England’s humiliating loss to tiny Iceland at the European Championship in June, questioning the FA’s financial strategy, and talking dismissively about the organisation’s president, Prince William.

The 61-year-old Allardyce was filmed in a London hotel in August and a Manchester restaurant talking to the undercover reporters.

“On reflection it was a silly thing to do, but just to let everyone know I’d sort of helped out what was somebody I’d known for 30 years,” Allardyce told reporters outside his home in northern England, referring to football agent Scott McGarvey.

“Unfortunately, it was an error of judgment on my behalf and I’ve paid the consequences.

“Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that. The agreement was done very amicably with the FA. I apologise to those and all concerned in this unfortunate situation I’ve put myself in.”

Allardyce never even got a chance to manage England at the national stadium, Wembley, with his only game in charge a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win in Slovakia earlier this month.

The former West Ham United, Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers manager said that he was going abroad “to chill out and reflect”, refused to rule out an eventual return to football.

“Who knows? We’ll wait and see,” he said.

The former centre half recognised in an earlier statement that he had made comments which had caused embarrassment to the FA and others.

A glance at the morning’s newspapers will have given him little comfort, with scant sympathy and lashings of scorn for a manager that ex-FA chairman Greg Dyke said had been ‘grubbing around’ for money.

“I didn’t think England could stoop any lower from what happened in the summer at the Euros,” commented former England striker Alan Shearer. “Now here we are, a laughing stock of world football.”

England are not rushing to replace Allardyce.

Gareth Southgate, the manager of England Under-21s, will take charge of the senior team’s next four matches — against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland, and Spain — across October and November.

That means there is less urgency for the FA to hire a new manager with the following game not until March 2017 when England host Lithuania in their fifth World Cup qualifier.

“I’m going to go away and reflect on it. I’d like to wish all the England lads, Gareth, and the staff all the very best,” he said, telling reporters that he could say no more due to a confidentiality agreement with the FA.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016