Sam Allardyce invited to enjoy Scots roots at Clan gathering

NEW England boss Sam Allardyce has been invited to a clan gathering in Scotland - after revealing both his parents are actually Scottish.

New England manager Sam Allardyce invited to Clan gathering in Scotland. Picture: Oli Scarffoli/AFP/Getty Images

The 61-year-old revealed in his autobiography that his mum and dad are both from north of the border, with his dad hailing from remote Aberlour in Moray.

The news will come as a surprise to many England fans who see straight-talking northerner Allardyce as the definition of the English bulldog spirit.

But Jim Allardice, president of the Allardice Family Association, is organising a clan get-together near the clan’s ancestral home at Allardice Castle, Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire and hopes Big Sam will attend.

The last clan gathering took place in 2001 at the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Jim’s home city of Atlanta, Georgia.

Jim said: “Everybody with the Allardice name would be invited. To go back to the old stomping ground would be incredible.”

And he added he would not be betting against Sam when England play Scotland at their World Cup qualifier in November.

He said: “You don’t want to root against Sam. I wouldn’t want to bet against him, that’s for sure.”

Allardyce, whose first match as England manager is a friendly against Croatia in September, revealed his Scottish roots in Big Sam: My Autobiography.

His dad Bob and mum Mary gave birth to a daughter in 1939, with Sam arriving 15 years later, after the family had moved to Dudley, West Midlands.

He wrote in his autobiography: “I’m not sure how we ended up in Dudley, because my mum is Scottish too, and I never asked my parents.”

And, in an interview four years ago, he said: “Being brought up from a Scottish background, I was a bit of a tight b***ard.”

A Scottish genealogy magazine cited by the forebears.co.uk website says of the Allardice name: “It is not a very common name, but all who hold it believe in their descent from the old family which was settled for so long a period on the banks of the Bervie Water.”

The name is believed to be derived from the old name for the locality, Alrethis. British historian Robert Nisbet Bain said that King William the Lion gave the charter to lands at Alrethis to an individual who then became known as Alexander de Allyrdas in the 13th century.

The clan’s motto may be a suitable one for Allardyce’s new job. The motto is: “In Defence of the Distressed.”

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