Julio Arca suggests what Sunderland fans’ expectation would have been had Sam Allardyce remained in charge

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Sunderland appear to be on the verge of having their Premier League relegation confirmed this season.

Former Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce

Julio Arca has suggested to The Sun that Sunderland fans would have expected to compete for a mid-table spot in the Premier League this season had they kept Sam Allardyce in charge.

Allardyce did a tremendous job during his short spell in charge at the Stadium of Light, leading the Black Cats to another sensational great escape in the top flight.

That performance saw him handed the England job following the country’s disappointing Euro 2016 display, and left Sunderland to appoint David Moyes as his replacement towards the end of July.

Unfortunately however, the season has certainly not gone to plan with 12 points separating the side from safety with six games to go.

But Arca believes that, despite their long run of great escapes, keeping Allardyce would have given the supporters the belief that relegation would not have been anywhere near as great a concern this season.

Sunderland manager David Moyes

“They should have everything to be a stable Premier League club — the fans are great, the training ground and stadium are fantastic,” he told The Sun.

“And after what happened last year with Sam Allardyce keeping them up, the fans probably thought they had a chance to be a mid-table team with that stability.

“But then Sam left and David Moyes came in and things haven’t worked out.”

In fairness to Moyes, the situation he walked into would have been extremely difficult for any manager, with little time between his appointment and the start of the season, especially with no signings made before that point.

But it is also fair to say that Allardyce has become synonymous with getting every little bit of quality out of a squad he is working with, and so it would hardly be a surprise if supporters feel, like Arca suspects, that Allardyce being in charge would have given them a much greater chance of survival.