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Five things about Allardyce

Here are five things you may not have known about "Big Sam".

1 Big Sam's dance moves go viral

Off the back of arguably his greatest achievement as a manager with Sunderland last season, footage of Allardyce dancing to Rihanna's "We Found Love" in Marbella went viral online during the European Championship and showed a different side to the 61-year-old.

2 His surname traces back to the Scottish Isles

The surname Allardyce is of early medieval Scottish origin.

According to the publication The Surnames of Scotland, it is "a territorial name from the old barony of Allardice in the parish of Arbuthnott, Kincardineshire, believed to be so called from the Middle English "aller", alder, and an uncertain second element, thought to be the Gaelic "deas", south (facing).

3 He once plied his trade in America

After playing for Bolton, Sunderland and Millwall during the first 12 years of his career, Allardyce played for North American Soccer League side Tampa Bay Rowdies during the 1983 season. He made only 11 appearances for the club.

4 His father was a policeman

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph two years ago, Allardyce cited the influence of his father Bob, who served as a policeman for 25 years, and how he taught him the importance of discipline.

He said: "My old man always said you only get what you graft for.

"It doesn't matter how intelligent you are, how much education you've got, you'll only get there on work rate. My dad was a policeman for 25 years, a sergeant, and he taught me discipline."

5 His son was once a professional footballer

Centre back Craig Allardyce followed the footsteps of his father, playing for a total of 11 clubs including Preston, Guangdong Hongyuan, Blackpool, Mansfield and Boston.

He briefly worked as a football agent before managing Turton Town in 2007. - PA Sport.

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