Sam Allardyce has told his players to forget about asking for new, improved contracts until they have pulled clear of the relegation zone.
“It’s a bit too early to be dishing out new contracts in the position we’re in,” said Sunderland’s manager, who appears on a mission to erase the word complacency from the club’s mindset.
“If a senior player is out of contract then he has to prove something, prove he is worthy of a new contract. It means he has to be a massive contributor the team. If he can do that, then he can negotiate from power. If he has kept us up – then we will probably want to keep him.”
Allardyce clearly feels certain senior professionals at the Stadium of Light have much to prove and he has warned them they would struggle to replicate their current wages elsewhere.
Despite their position in the relegation zone Sunderland’s squad is the eighth-best remunerated in the Premier League and the new manager has issued a reminder that life remains much less comfortable elsewhere. “If your contract is running out then where do you go?” he said. “If it’s outside the Premier League, then you will be talking about earning a small percentage of what you are earning now.
“You might not get the contract you think you are worth so keeping a team in the Premier League and staying a Premier League player for as long as possible should be every player’s goal. That’s where it is, that’s where it all happens. Both from an enjoyment side but also in terms of what it brings you and your family financially. Your contract running out can create panic in your professional and family life.”
The only exception to the ban on new and extended deals is negotiations involving young players such as Sunderland’s much-admired England Under-21 winger Duncan Watmore, whose agreement expires in the summer. “If it’s Duncan Watmore or any other young player then yes, it’s something we may consider now,” said Allardyce. “But all the senior players no, it would be put on hold.
“There are players here with talent and ability but they have to understand that it’s the hard graft, discipline and desire that gets you there, not the ability. If you’re not prepared to roll your sleeves up, dig in and graft, if you’re not prepared to play the game with intelligence, then ability doesn’t shine through and you can’t use what you’ve been blessed with. At the moment though it’s far too early for me to make a real judgment on the squad, it’s a bit too early to say whether they’re going to be reliable or not.”
