Former Bolton Wanderers defender Radhi Jaidi has hailed Leeds United's interim head coach Sam Allardyce as a "leader" after he backed the 68-year-old to unite the squad in their fight against relegation.
Allardyce replaced Javi Gracia with the Whites above the relegation zone on goal difference alone. Leeds will be looking for the 68-year-old to maintain his record as somewhat of a survival specialist as they hope to retain their Premier League status for the 2023/24 season.
And Jaidi, who played under Allardyce at Bolton for two seasons, believes that the new Leeds coach is the perfect man for the job.
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"I'm very interested to see how he's going to deal with the challenge, because it's a big challenge with four games to go, but I think he can be a good man for this," Jaidi told BBC World Service. "Whoever knows Sam knows he's a strong character. Independent of his wide experience as a manager, he's someone who can implement his ideas as quickly as possible and as clearly as possible.
"Big Sam is back on the scene, which is a great. I always enjoyed working with him," the former Tunisia captain added. "We all know that he took previous jobs with hard challenges and he succeeded in those jobs. Any team in Leeds' position needs clarity and they need a strong character, someone who is a leader and a high level manager.
"But also someone who can bring everyone together: the various stakeholders, the players in the changing room first of all, the ownership, fans and media. And he's the man who can do that."
"The most important thing for him is clean sheets...There is no magic in football. Leeds in the last five games conceded 18 goals, which is a lot, and this is something that definitely you need to adjust and rectify.
"In the last 15 games there's been an ambiguity in the way Leeds have been playing. Going back to basics with Sam, something he will look for, reducing the goals that are conceded, and then go for it. It's not going to be an easy task but I think he will be happy to challenge the players and engage them to go on and make it to safety."
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