He said: "I think this job is about the same. They were different times I went in, but similar times. It upsets my wife that I keep taking jobs just before Christmas.

"What we have got to do is manage our way through this amount of games, coping with the pandemic and me trying to learn the players' strengths and weaknesses."

Allardyce will want to strengthen his squad when the transfer window opens in January.

He added: "There's some money, some opportunities, but there is a massive loss of revenue because of Covid to cope with.

"I understand the situation and we'll try and improve the team if we can find a player.

"We talked about that as a key area, once I've fully assessed the whole squad. I'm not certain, but I'm sure I will."