Sam Allardyce is announced as new Everton boss on 18-month contract

Everton have appointed former England manager Sam Allardyce as their new manager, the club have announced.

Allardyce has been out of work since May when he left Crystal Palace after guiding them to Premier League safety and has joined the Toffees on an 18-month deal.

The 63-year-old said he wanted to take a break from the game but the opportunity at Goodison Park has proved too good to turn down.

“The attraction of the club itself, the people I’ve known at the Club - Peter Reid is one of my best mates, so are Andy Gray and Paul Bracewell whom I worked with at Sunderland – these people have always made me aware of just how special and unique a club Everton is and I feel really enthused and energised to come in as manager,” Allardyce said in a club statement.

“I’ve always thought Everton was a great club. It is a great club. Obviously, the club has gone through a difficult spell and hopefully I can put that behind us as quickly as possible and start looking upwards again.

“Because, ultimately, it’s the ambition of the Club, the ambition of the Owner and the Board, allied to the fact that it’s Everton and all the fantastic history, which have proved to be key for me.

“We’ve got to try to keep our heads up and push ourselves until we make sure we get that better. The fans are the most important people at any football club, of course, and we have to give the players every possibility to play to their best, really give them no excuses for not playing to their best and get them right back up to the top level we believe they’re capable of."