Sam Allardyce right to say he’d have won trophies at Celtic

“If you’re at a club that’s like a Celtic or a Rangers, the fans expect you to win trophies and if you don’t do that, you will get the sack.”

Sam Allardyce claimed any decent manager could win trophies at Celtic. Picture: Henry Browne/Getty

It’s a quote and sentiment which few would disagree with, given that it is, in essence, simply stating the obvious.

But when Sam Allardyce uttered those words this week, it was met with scorn and faux outrage by those within Scottish football whom, it seems, simply can’t wait to be offended.

Allardyce’s crime, it appears, was the suggestion during the particular segment on talkSPORT that any manager worth his salt could have claimed silverware at Celtic in recent years.

That Allardyce has never won a major honour during his long managerial career was cited by many as evidence to the contrary. Yet does anyone seriously believe that he would have come up empty-handed as Celtic manager at any time over the past seven seasons?

The only thing Allardyce was guilty of this week was clumsy use of language in applying his view to Brendan Rodgers’ tenure at the Scottish champions, which delivered an unprecedented level of success which perhaps no other manager – certainly not big Sam – could have achieved.

But it is no slight on Celtic or Scottish football to accept that a manager of Allardyce’s standing and experience, whether you like or loathe him, could have won league titles and domestic cups here.