Borini: Allardyce ‘doesn’t always speak proper English’

Italian striker Fabio Borini says that English manager Sam Allardyce “doesn’t always speak proper English”.

The former £11m Liverpool forward has been speaking to The Guardian about life at Sunderland during a relegation battle which has forced him to play wide rather than his favoured position.

“He’s a very straight guy,” Borini says. “You know what he’s thinking and, even if you don’t, he’s going to tell you. He shouts a lot, sometimes for no reason, and he doesn’t always speak proper English but he’s a manager you listen to.

“I call my role a blind job because people don’t notice the work you’re doing. I feel a bit like Thomas Müller at Bayern Munich – they pick him because he does a lot of blind jobs, which makes things easier for everyone else.

“My natural position is to play up front, especially as one of two strikers. Playing wide is hard. Sometimes it’s more about going backwards than forwards. It’s about defending and tracking back rather than enjoying the ball in the opposition half, and it’s why I’m not scoring as many goals as I want.

“You could see against Arsenal last week  that I probably touched the ball more in my own box than in the opposition half so it does get a little bit frustrating. It’s not so enjoyable.

“My job has to be done. The manager thinks I’m the right man for it so I’ll do it. You have to put yourself to one side a little bit to help the team and that’s what I’ve done all season – but it will all be worth it if we stay up.

“Hopefully next season we won’t be fighting relegation and I can play a more attacking role, have a bit more freedom in the attacking third.”