Blackburn Rovers boss: I still love to beat my apprentice (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn Rovers boss: I still love to beat my apprentice

9:40am Wednesday 10th February 2010 in

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SAM Allardyce has taken great pleasure in the way Phil Brown has seen off the threat of the dreaded ‘you’re fired’ at a resurgent Hull City, but insists he will always look at his old pal as ‘the apprentice’.

Allardyce and Brown enjoyed incredible success during their days at Bolton Wanderers together, as manager and assistant between 1999 and 2005, but go head to head at Ewood Park tonight looking for crucial points in both side’s bid to beat the Premier League drop.

The Blackburn Rovers boss revealed he and Brown are still constantly on the phone together, unloading their frustrations on each other.

But Allardyce also admitted to a rivalry between the ‘master’ and his ‘protege’.

Brown’s Tigers are still without a league win on their travels this campaign but an impressive home run over the last couple of months has silenced the growing critics to suggest Rovers’ task won’t be as easy as some believe.

Allardyce said: “There is still a rivalry because we both want to be the victors when we come together.

"We have shared many ideas but Phil in his own right has established himself as a successful Premier League manager.

“From my point of view, he is the apprentice and you never want to lose out to your apprentice.

"The rivalry will always be there but whatever happens we will come together after and have a glass of wine.

“Browny particularly, he has been dragged through the mill recently, he has had the ups and the not so glorious side of it but has come through it.

"You look at his recent results and he has had a fantastic run of results with a bunch of players that are committed, and they are reaping the benefit of that.

“I just hope when Wednesday comes around he is very, very miserable at the end of it because we have stopped his run.”

Allardyce and Brown’s innovative Bolton era has helped bring about more advanced coaching methods into football, with a large backroom staff to help them towards their ambitions.

Their methods took Bolton to cup finals, European football and challenging at the right end of the Premier League – with Allardyce still proud about the staff he put together.

“I do look at the career of a lot of the staff I have worked with and I am proud that most of the staff who have worked under me, at all levels, generally are all working in the Premier League,” said Allardyce.

“There are four or five of the lads who used to work with me at Manchester City, there are a couple at Fulham, you have Macca with me here and Browny at Hull as well.

“We always keep in contact with each other, we are all qualified and experienced in the job that we do.

"When we all started we were a young, very enthusiastic group of people that learnt their trade very quickly.

“We became very experienced in what we do by our foray into other areas and aspects of football that was going to help us produce better players and better results.

“That has all moved on now in terms of where they are working.

"I can’t afford them any more – so they won’t be working with me any more.”