Quinn wants ´perfect fit´ Allardyce to retire at Sunderland

Former Sunderland chairman and striker Niall Quinn hopes Sam Allardyce will retire at the club after keeping them in the Premier League.

The impressive 3-0 win over Everton on Wednesday ensured Sunderland’s survival in the top flight with one match to spare and condemned rivals Newcastle United and Norwich City to the drop in the process.

Quinn hailed the impact of Allardyce, 61, after the ex-West Ham boss replaced Dick Advocaat in October when the club only had three points from their first eight matches and sat second-bottom of the table before guiding them to safety.

“The fit is so good with Sam Allardyce,” he said to Sky Sports. “I hope he signs for quite a number of years and sees out his days here.

“He has come in and done an incredible job just trying to keep the club up, but there’s nobody better placed to go and bring it to the next level.

“He is the perfect fit. The Sunderland fans shout louder for a tackle than they do for goals sometimes and he brings the robustness that this club is missing.

“They have had a soft centre at times, but not with him around. The organisation is really good and he is a different class in the transfer market.

“Sunderland have developed something under Sam Allardyce which is huge.

“They have been used to escaping but there is something different about this. He has something really big going on now and I think it could last for years.”

Sunderland have only lost once in their last 10 league matches and travel to Watford on Sunday to finish their season.