Palace saved me from depression - Allardyce

Sam Allardyce said he had been given "closure" after the Telegraph was instructed to publish a correction regarding its 2016 report on him.

Sam Allardyce says Crystal Palace pulled him "out of a depression" after he was sacked from the England manager's job in 2016.

Allardyce was speaking after the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) instructed the Daily Telegraph to publish a correction over three "significant inaccuracies" in its coverage of an undercover investigation that led to his dismissal as manager of the Three Lions, although it did deem that the story was in the public interest.

Palace appointed Allardyce just three months after his England sacking following allegations of malpractice, and the 63-year-old said taking over at Selhurst Park moved him on from a period of turmoil in his life.

Allardyce told talkSPORT: "Crystal Palace saved me and pulled me out of a depression.

"My life was in turmoil, to say the least. I was living in a cloud – a cloud I couldn't get myself out of.

"[Chairman] Steve Parish said 'what a load of rubbish that was'."

Discussing the outcome of the IPSO review, Allardyce added: "We have been waiting months, years and years for this outcome.

"Clearly we're challenging the big boys and it's not an easy task.

"As far as we're concerned, we've won on the biggest of the counts and I believe that was the main reason I lost the England job."

Allardyce described himself as "black and blue" from kicking himself for attending a meeting in which his comments about third-party ownership were recorded, but said he would go back into football management again "if it's the right job".

On the question of whether he would pursue legal action against The Telegraph, he said: "I don't know if I want to pursue another two or three years.

"It's not about the money.

"In this country you're guilty – not innocent until proven guilty - especially if you're high profile."