Holloway like Ferguson and Mourinho – Allardyce

(GSM) – Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce claims Ian Holloway’s achievements at Blackpool make him worthy of comparison with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and former Chelsea manager José Mourinho.

Mourinho and Ferguson are widely-regarded as two of the best managers today, but Big Sam thinks Holloway merits equal credit for his own feats.

Holloway has had long spells at Bristol Rovers and Queens Park Rangers as well as ridiculously short management periods at Plymouth Argyle and Leicester City.

However, he managed to promote Championship side Blackpool, who were tipped for relegation, to the Premier League after play-offs.

And ahead of his visit to Bloomfield Road on Saturday, Allardyce has hailed Holloway’s efforts, saying that his work is not given sufficient recognition.

“He has been a good manager for many years,” he said. “This is a major achievement and there are not many managers who have done what he has done and he should be very proud of his successes.

“When you look at what resources they have, we don’t give them the plaudits they deserve because they are a small, unfashionable club, but in terms of resources and finance it lies alongside anything Alex Ferguson or José Mourinho has done, in reality.

“Ian probably thought he was written off as a manager but got the opportunity to go to Blackpool and he has put all his experience together. He created enough energy and management know-how to take the players that he put together and make them play as a team and they thoroughly deserved what they got in the end.

“It is a fairytale story. Now the hard part is trying to maintain their status in the Premier League.”