Allardyce picked his Blackburn team before heading for heart surgery

27 November 2009 11:46
Sam Allardyce is undergoing heart surgery this morning as scheduled, Blackburnassistant manager Neil McDonald has confirmed.[LNB]Allardyce, who has complained of chest pains in recent weeks, requires an angioplasty, a procedure to widen a narrowed coronary artery.[LNB]The 55-year-old will be absent from the dugout for the third consecutive match when Blackburn host Stoke tomorrow in the Barclays Premier League, but is expected to be back at work on Monday.[LNB]Manager Allardyce missed the 2-0 win at his former club Bolton last Sunday, before Rovers slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Fulham on Wednesday evening.[LNB] Write caption here[LNB]McDonald, who has taken temporary charge of first-team affairs, said: 'I spoketo him (Allardyce) this morning just before they whipped him down.[LNB]'He has gone down this morning and we will find out this afternoon how he is and how quickly he is going to recover. We wish him well and hopefully he'll get back as soon as possible.[LNB]'He seemed very good and aware of what was happening. We were trying to cheer him up and he is obviously worried because of the operation that he is going through.[LNB]'But he probably knows more than the surgeon at the moment. He likes to knowwhat is going on and how things are done, and it keeps it clear in his mind.[LNB]'I'm sure he'll be fine, up and about this afternoon and hopefully out tomorrow. If there are any little complications then obviously Wednesday might came a little bit too soon for him, but we are all expecting him back next week.'[LNB] Midweek gloom: Fulham's Clinton Dempsey (left) celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Blackburn[LNB]McDonald confirmed Allardyce had continued to have an input in team selection and decision-making while he has been away from the club.[LNB]'He is a manager who likes to pick the team and have the information off his staff,' said McDonald.[LNB]'I have been giving him the information on how the players have been training and playing. It has been good for him to watch the games afterwards so he can analyse them himself and have his opinions from there.[LNB]'He said "I want to do this, I want to do that. What do you think? What do the rest of the staff think?"[LNB]'And that is exactly what we have done since he has been away.'[LNB] Forget Barcelona or Manchester, raw fury at Burnley derby shook HughesFulham 3 Blackburn 0: Dempsey's double another sickener for AllardyceTHE FIRING LINE: Watch out Rafa Benitez! Find out who's safe and who's the next to go after Paul Hart's Portsmouth exitBLACKBURN ROVERS FC

Source: Daily_Mail