SAM ALLARDYCE wants a shake up of Sunderland’s backroom set-up and the go ahead for squad investment in January before making a decision on whether to take over at the Stadium of Light.

As bookmakers slashed Allardyce’s odds to become the next manager on Wearside, it is understood he is interested in filling the void left by Dick Advocaat.

But the 60-year-old will demand to be surrounded by the men he trusts on the training ground and he could even ask for an addition to the administration department to help him slot in. That could see a new chief scout brought in as well as his own sports analysts, although his long-serving assistant Neil McDonald is currently in charge at Blackpool.

Allardyce also freedom in the transfer market at the turn of the year to make signings he feels can lift Sunderland clear of relegation trouble. That would include players with plenty of experience of the Premier League and he would target a number of British players.

It has also been claimed that Ellis Short, the Sunderland owner, is prepared to offer him a £2.6m contract and include a huge bonus to keep the club out of the Championship.

Sunderland remain tight-lipped about the situation, insisting the search for a new manager remains an ongoing process and that nothing is imminent.

But Short still wants a new boss in charge of team affairs before the trip to West Brom on October 17 and Allardyce is firmly the No 1 choice.

Neither Allardyce nor Sunderland have commented so far, although there have been a long list of applicants as well as those like Harry Redknapp to have distanced themselves from the post. Nigel Pearson, sacked by Leicester at the end of last season, remains a realistic alternative if Allardyce turns away from negotiations.

Short is searching for the eighth permanent manager of his ownership and the last few managers have all spoken about the need to change a mentality of a club always struggling to beat the drop.

Gus Poyet, sacked in March after a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa left Sunderland staring at relegation, thinks the constant changes are a huge factor in the struggles.

Poyet said: “They need to take an appointment and stick with it whatever results come in the next two or three years.”

The Uruguayan’s reign came to an end with Sunderland seemingly destined for relegation having overseen a successful relegation fight and a run to the final of the Capital One Cup during his first seven months in charge. He thinks Allardyce would be the ideal candidate to stop the rot.

He said: “He knows the Premier League inside out and he knows exactly what a team needs to do to stay in the Premier League.

“I don’t know if Sam would like to go and maybe he is going to kill me next time I see him but I think because he had an experience before in the North-East he knows what it is required.”

Poyet eventually lost his job after an inability to keep Sunderland away from relegation trouble last season, when he was critical of the fans and the media during a run of poor results. Speaking on the second anniversary of him taking over at Sunderland he admits he is still surprised to have lost his job when he did.

He said: “Unlike Brendan Rodgers, whose situation was played out in the media (at Liverpool), I had no real idea that I was going to lose my Sunderland job until the day it happened.

“We’d lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa, with all four goals coming in the first half. The mood was bad in the stadium, the result terrible, though we were still 17th and not in the relegation zone.

“I went to work on Monday morning as usual. A few people close to me asked: ‘Are you having a meeting today?’ That was the first inkling that it wasn’t going to be a normal day.

“A meeting followed soon after at the training ground. Sunderland’s chief executive, secretary and solicitor were there. I was dialled into the club’s American owner, Ellis Short. There were no pleasantries, there was no need. I was told that my contract was being terminated.

“It sounds hard and brutal, but it was done in a professional way. I have no complaints and only respect for those people I worked with. I then had a private chat with Short and went to my office.”

Next Sunderland manager odds

Sam Allardyce 1/5; Nigel Pearson 12/1; Bob Bradley 20/1; Sean Dyche 25/1; David Moyes 25/1; Brendan Rodgers 33/1; Neil Lennon 33/1; JF Hasselbaink 33/1. Supplied by bet365