Jermain Defoe is hoping that new boss Sam Allardyce will be tempted to give him regular starts with the club
Jermain Defoe is hoping that new boss Sam Allardyce will be tempted to give him regular starts with the club as he ‘didn’t join Sunderland to sit on the sub’s bench’.
Allardyce took charge of his first game as manager last week against West Brom and used Defoe as a second half substitute.
This is typical of Big Sam’s style of play, he sorts his side out to get them as strong as he can defensive wise, then works on the attack.
Defoe got games under the guidance of Dick Advocaat as he prefered a three man attack and Defoe could play wide, but Allardyce is more of a two up front man or even just the lone striker, he has yet to find his best option at the club.
So that could mean more starts on the bench for the 33 year old Defoe, something which he was not expecting when he joined the club from Toronto.
But even playing wide for Advocaat didn’t see Defoe perform at his best, he much prefers a more usual strikers roll up front and in the middle.
Defoe told the Journal: ‘Obviously, I can understand the manager coming in and saying he’s not too sure if he wants to play 4-4-2. He might want to be more solid in midfield so you don’t concede goals, so we’ll just see what happens.
‘But at the age of 33, you want to play football. I didn’t come here to sit on the bench. You want to play football and score goals. I said that from day one.’
