“They would not be in this position now if they had done it sooner” BBC pundit Danny Murphy blasts Leeds board for not hiring Sam Allardyce much earlier in the season

Pundit Danny Murphy believes Leeds United would have easily been safe if they had hired Sam Allardyce a lot earlier in the season.

The club appointed Allardyce this week after sacking interim manager Javi Gracia. The former England boss was appointed to manage Leeds for the final four games of the season.

Their first game under Allardyce saw some improvement as they lost 2-1 away to Manchester City. After conceding five goals against Crystal Palace and four goals against Bournemouth, conceding only two to Manchester City will give them faith for their last three games.

With Leeds on 30 points and facing Tottenham, West Ham and Newcastle in their last three games, there is a lot of work to do to try and keep them up.

Allardyce is known mainly for keeping numerous clubs in the Premier League. This job may be his toughest yet as he only has four games to keep the club up.

Speaking via the Daily Mail on Allardyce, Murphy said: “I think it’s a great move by Leeds to bring him in. They should have done it sooner. They should have done it when Jesse Marsch was sacked. I am not of the opinion that everything in football needs to be about the new school. Crystal Palace have shown that with Roy Hodgson while Neil Warnock has worked wonders at Huddersfield.

“If Leeds had brought Allardyce in then, they would not be in this position now.”

Allardyce no doubt he believes he has the qualities to keep Leeds up. With the club one spot above the relegation zone they could still stay up even if they lost all their matches.

Many at Leeds will wonder what position they would be in if they picked Allardyce over Gracia following the sacking of Jesse Marsch.