Everton's indecision put me off, says Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce says he ruled himself out of the Everton manager's job after being put off by the club's indecision.

The former England boss, who's managed a string of Premier League clubs, was linked with the vacancy at Goodison Park after Ronald Koeman was sacked nearly a month ago.

But after putting under-23 coach David Unsworth in temporary charge, Everton approached Watford for permission to speak to Marco Silva but were rebuffed by the Hertfordshire club.

Sky Sports News understands Allardyce told Everton over the weekend he was no longer interested in the job after being offered a contract until the end of the season.

The saga had left him frustrated and he had come to the conclusion that it was best to withdraw from consideration.

"It never materialised as I thought it would, unfortunately," Allardyce told talkSPORT. "For me such a long time without a decision (meant) I had to make a decision myself.

"The decision was it was probably better it wasn't me, and I'd move on to something else. It would have been a fabulous job, but it just didn't feel right.

"I think when you're sat in my position you want people to be decisive and feel like they want you. I didn't get that feeling overall. They were hesitating that I was the man."

Former Everton defender Richard Dunne was also taken aback by the lack of progress in finding a new manager.

"They have had enough time to sort it out and it is a surprise coming back into the Premier League (after the international break) and them still having no manager," Dunne told the radio station.

"If they want Silva from Watford, they should pay whatever is needed to be paid and get it done.

"The performances have not been good enough this season and they need to turn it around quickly."

Dunne believes the club should be looking for a bigger name anyway if they are serious about getting back into European football.

He added: "They want to progress and play Champions League football so if (Carlo) Ancelotti or (Diego) Simeone were available they should certainly set their aims at that level."