Allardyce arrives at Palace, poised for manager's job

LONDON ( Reuters) - Sam Allardyce arrived at Crystal Palace's training ground on Friday, poised to resume his managerial career at the helm of the struggling Premier League club.

The day after Alan Pardew was sacked as Palace's manager, Allardyce, who lost his job as England boss in September following a newspaper sting, told Sky Sports he was at the ground for talks with the club chairman Steve Parish.

"I'm just here to talk to Steve and assuming it all goes all right, it should be okay," Allardyce said.

Asked about whether it was the right job to re-launch his career, he added: "Fantastic."

Allardyce's representatives were also reported to be talking to Palace with the prospect of an announcement of the 62-year-old's appointment being made before the south London side visit Watford on Monday.

Allardyce left his role as England manager by mutual consent after just one game, in the wake of a newspaper investigation which featured a video of him offering advice on how to "get around" FA rules on player transfers.

If a deal is agreed with Palace, Allardyce could take training on Saturday and be in charge against Watford.

After one win in their last 11 league matches, Palace are seeking more solidity from a specialist in relegation firefighting. Their dismal run has left them 17th in the standings, one place and one point above the drop zone.

At a news conference earlier on Friday, Palace assistant manager Keith Millen said: "Certainly for players, he (Allardyce) is an experienced Premier League manager. He did a great job keeping Sunderland up (last season). If it is Sam, Palace are getting an experienced manager.

"I don't know if Sam Allardyce has got a point to prove with his career in league football because he has been very successful. The England job is very different."

Of Pardew, Millen added: "We have exchanged text messages. He is upset, disappointed but proud of what he has done here. Unfortunately, the results have not been good enough."

(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Ken Ferris)