SAM Allardyce has admitted he wanted to quit Blackburn Rovers last summer - some five months before he was sacked by new owners Venky's.

The poultry giants stunned Ewood Park when they dismissed Allardyce soon after buying the club from the Walker Trust, but 'Big Sam' now admits if it had been up to him he would have been long gone by then.

Allardyce has told United Arab Emirates newspaper XPRESS he was ready to take on his first coaching job in the UAE last summer, only to be stopped by Rovers.

He said: "I had an offer on the table to come to Dubai and manage Al Ahli, back in May or June last year, a role that David O'Leary eventually took over.

"Ironically, I wasn't allowed to leave Blackburn at the time due to contractual obligations and so I had to turn down the offer that I was ready to accept. It's a shame. I was ready to make the move to Al Ahli.

"I would be prepared to come and coach in the UAE Pro League if the club and objectives were a fit for me, of course I would. Let's see what transpires, but there's nothing on the table."

Since Allardyce's departure, Rovers have slipped down the Premier League table into a relegation dog fight.

His former charges travel to West Ham on Saturday still needing points to secure safety, and Allardyce insists the last few months have proved Venky's wrong.

He said: "The club didn't see me as a part of their future plans, what more can I say? They decided to terminate my employment without any real discussion with me, or opportunity for me to show them how to become a top-five football club. I wanted the same thing they did, but these things don't just happen overnight.

"The decision to terminate my contract was made well before they joined the club in my opinion because of how quickly I was removed once they took over.

"They are where they are, and it proves that the decisions that were made at the club so far haven't been the right ones."