SAM Allardyce says he is glad that Venky’s decided to sack him as Blackburn Rovers boss – and has revealed that he turned down the chance to manage Burnley less than a month later.

Allardyce was surprisingly sacked by Rovers in December 2010, shortly after Venky’s took control of the club, but has since returned to management to take West Ham United into the Premier League.

And the 58-year-old admits that his Rovers exit was for the best, having seen the way the club has been run in the two years since then.

“When Blackburn sacked me I was very disappointed but in hindsight I’m glad they did it because it probably wouldn’t have worked out with the new owners anyway,” Allardyce said.

“What has gone on at Blackburn since tells you that lots of people have to be in place to run a successful club. Without the right structure, the team won’t function to their true capacity.

“The probability of a takeover was always there. In my first interview for the job, I was told that the club had been for sale for more than two years and would continue to be on the market.

“When you lose your job, there is a wave of sympathy from within the game.

“But while that is all well and good, it can’t repair the damage which is done to your career.”

And, weeks after his departure from Ewood Park, Allardyce says he was offered the opportunity to become the new boss of Rovers’ arch rivals Burnley, following the departure of Brian Laws.

He had been linked with the Turf Moor vacancy but, after initially appearing to avoid ruling himself out, he later made it clear that he was not interested in the job.

“What is not generally known is that I was offered the Burnley job,” Allardyce said.

“I was out of work at the time and it was good of them to approach me, however my response was a polite ‘thank you very much but I will sit tight and see what materialises’.

“It was the right decision.”