I was Sam Allardyce's assistant when he made infamous Pep claim - now I want to beat Man City boss

It is a moment that is etched into Premier League folklore.

After Sam Allardyce was appointed Leeds United's third manager of the season during the 2022/23 campaign with just four matches remaining, he wasted little time in grabbing the headlines in the Whites' bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

At his first press conference, Allardyce boldly told the world's media: "I might be 68 and old, but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms. Not Pep [Guardiola], not [Jurgen] Klopp, not [Mikel] Arteta.

“It’s all there with me. They do what they do, I do what I do. In terms of knowledge and depth of knowledge, I’m up there with them. I’m not saying I’m better than them, but certainly as good as they are."

Allardyce's comments garnered an incredible reaction on social media and ahead of Leeds' trip to City. The pressure was taken away from his players.

The former England manager's assistants at Elland Road were Robbie Keane and Karl Robinson, and the latter revealed exactly what was going through the former Newcastle boss' head when comparing himself to the three biggest managers in the Premier League at the time.

"He [Allardyce] turned round me to me and said, ‘I need to do something here, I need to create a bit of a smokescreen. The players look nervous, they can’t deal with the pressure’," Robinson told the 'I Had Trials Once' podcast.

"I said, ‘just make up something, just throw something out there’. He said, ‘I f****** will’.

"I’m in his office with Keano [Robbie Keane] and we’re just sat there having a coffee. He [Allardyce] stormed in with his massive big smile on his big head and just went, ‘I’ve only ‘f****** said I’m better than Pep and Klopp haven’t I’. We all went 'what?!'.

"The press officer then