Sam Allardyce quits as Crystal Palace manager after five months in charge

Sam Allardyce has quit as manager of Crystal Palace after exactly five months in charge and has suggested he could retire from football altogether.

The 62-year-old confirmed on Tuesday that he has left Selhurst Park just nine days after steering the club to Premier League safety and two days on from the season finale.

Allardyce was only appointed as Palace boss last December, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract following the sacking of Alan Pardew, but now leaves the Eagles looking for their six manager in five years.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Allardyce said: "In some ways, this has been a very difficult decision to make but in others it has been a simple one.

"I will always be grateful to Crystal Palace and Steve Parish for giving me the opportunity to go out with my head held high having helped keep the Club in the Premier League.

"But there comes a time when you have to take stock of what direction you want your life to take - and that’s been the simple part for me.

"I want to be able to savour life while I’m still relatively young and when I’m still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager.

"This is the right time for me. I have no ambitions to take another job, I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.

"I would like to thank everybody for their messages of support since the news broke. I’ve no doubt I will miss management but I certainly have no regrets at this decision."

Allardyce had a tough start to life at Palace, with the Eagles securing just one Premier League win in January before a humiliating 4-0 loss at home to Sunderland on February 4.

But Palace recovered their form in April and to secure famous wins over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal at Selhurst Park and against Liverpool at Anfield to give their survival hopes a massive boost.

After then leading the club to safety with the 4-0 thrashing of Hull in mid-May, Allardyce admitted Palace's recruitment in January had played a key role in the Eagles beating the drop into the Championship.

"I think we've all worked extremely hard,' he told Match of the Day.

"From the owners, all the way through the club. My job was to pull together the football side and to lift everybody, not only on the pitch but behind the scenes and get working in the right direction.

"Then with the investment in January, very good performances came and those exceptionally good performances are the reason we stayed in the Premier League.

"When you look at beating Chelsea away, Arsenal at home and Liverpool away, without those points we'd be relegated. Those three big wins were the reason we stayed up."