Winston Reid learned the art of defending from Sunderland's former West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce
When Sam Allardyce arrived at West Ham United in July 2011, Winston Reid’s confidence was in tatters.
Then just 23, Reid had ended his first season in English football with just seven Premier League appearances and a relegation under his belt.
One could have forgiven the Danish-raised youngster for packing his bags and heading back to former club FC Midtjylland, or moving on elsewhere, but he decided to remain in east London and stick at it.
The decision was proved correct – and Big Sam played a huge part in that.
“As a defender, he generally does help you out because he puts on sessions that help younger players learn the basics of defending,” said Reid, when asked what impact the former West Ham boss had on his career.
“At that point in time, when I’d just come to English football, I was still getting used to a new playing style and he put good habits into me and over the years they has stuck with me.
“He teaches you to defend how a defender should do – I know that sounds a bit stupid, but it’s true!
In that sense, he knocked good habits into me and I appreciated having him as a coach and enjoyed working with him.
“The year we went down the team was all over the place, then when we got relegated it was tough because nobody knew if they were going to be staying or leaving.
“I guess everything was a bit up in the air and so to bounce back in the first season straight away, even if we had a few ups and downs, was great.
“We then had three decent enough seasons in the Premier League under Sam, and he stabilised the Club and took us from where we were before passing it on to Slaven, who has improved on it so far with some good young players who have been brought in to improve the squad.”
Then just 23, Reid had ended his first season in English football with just seven Premier League appearances and a relegation under his belt.
One could have forgiven the Danish-raised youngster for packing his bags and heading back to former club FC Midtjylland, or moving on elsewhere, but he decided to remain in east London and stick at it.
The decision was proved correct – and Big Sam played a huge part in that.
“As a defender, he generally does help you out because he puts on sessions that help younger players learn the basics of defending,” said Reid, when asked what impact the former West Ham boss had on his career.
“At that point in time, when I’d just come to English football, I was still getting used to a new playing style and he put good habits into me and over the years they has stuck with me.
“He teaches you to defend how a defender should do – I know that sounds a bit stupid, but it’s true!
In that sense, he knocked good habits into me and I appreciated having him as a coach and enjoyed working with him.
“The year we went down the team was all over the place, then when we got relegated it was tough because nobody knew if they were going to be staying or leaving.
“I guess everything was a bit up in the air and so to bounce back in the first season straight away, even if we had a few ups and downs, was great.
“We then had three decent enough seasons in the Premier League under Sam, and he stabilised the Club and took us from where we were before passing it on to Slaven, who has improved on it so far with some good young players who have been brought in to improve the squad.”
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The Digital Programme is available on Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as Android and via the Pocketmags app on kindle fire and Blackberry Playbook.
The Digital Programme comes with all the content you would expect from the print edition, as well as exclusive video footage, meaning fans from all over the globe can get ahead of the action and read their Programme and enjoy exclusive video interviews and highlights.
If you live overseas, that means you can download your Digital Programme before kick-off, with the game being televised live in a large number of countries across the world. The print edition will be available to buy in and around the Boleyn Ground on matchday as usual, packed with all the usual exclusive content.
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The Digital Programme is available on Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as Android and via the Pocketmags app on kindle fire and Blackberry Playbook.