Sam Allardyce, who left his post as England manager following revelations in an undercover newspaper investigation, spoke to reporters on Tuesday morning about his sadness at losing his job.
Allardyce, who was leaving on his way to a foreign holiday with his family, said: “On reflection it was a silly thing to do. I was trying to help someone out I knew for 30 years and unfortunately it was an error in judgement on my behalf. Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that.”
He added: “The agreement was done very amicably, I apologised to the FA and to all concerned for the unfortunate situation that I put myself in. I have confidentially agreement lads, I can’t answer any more questions just now, I’m going on holiday to reflect. I would like to wish Gareth [Southgate] and all the rest of the England lads the very best.”
Asked whether the England post would be his last job in football, Allardyce replied: “Who knows, we’ll wait and see.”
Earlier Allardyce had spoken to Sky Sports, pledging that he would never want to quit football and speaking about why he had attended the meetings with the reporters posing as Far East businessmen which eventually led to his downfall. He said: “I can’t put into words how sad I am to lose the England job. I know I’ve made a huge misjudgement.”
Allardyce reiterated that he was “hurt and disappointed” following the remarkable events which began when the Daily Telegraph published accounts of meetings which showed the short-lived England coach negotiating a £400,000 deal with what was supposed to be an overseas firm hoping to profit from Premier League transfers.
The former Bolton and West Ham manager said that he had attended those meetings to “do a friend a favour”. He told Sky his explanation for the discussions he had been involved in revolved around Scott McGarvey, one of the agents that set up the initial meeting. Allardyce said that “first and foremost” he went to the meetings because McGarvey was a person he has known for 20 to 30 years. He told them he knew McGarvey was desperate to get a job from people, who then turned out to be undercover reporters.
The Football Association chief executive, Martin Glenn, and the newly appointed chairman, Greg Clarke, met Allardyce at Wembley on Monday following the publication of the revelations, eventually announcing that the manager had agreed to leave by “mutual consent”. Allardyce will be replaced for the next four matches, against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain, by the England under-21 manager, Gareth Southgate.
Meanwhile, former FA chairman David Bernstein hopes Allardyce does not receive a compensation payment after “hubris” brought about the end of his reign as England manager.
Bernstein told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The hubris of it all is extraordinary. This is a man earning £3m a year. I wonder whether there’s a pay-off or not - I hope not, because I don’t think 50 or 60 days’ work merits a pay-off.”
Allardyce was also filmed making indiscreet comments about his predecessor Roy Hodgson, FA president Prince William and his brother Prince Harry, including mocking Hodgson’s speech impediment.
“We use the word ‘respect’ in football a lot,” said Bernstein. “This is incredibly disrespectful to Princes William and Harry, it was very disrespectful to a man I’ve got a great deal of respect for, Roy Hodgson. I’ve got, frankly, very little sympathy.”
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