Sam Allardyce has been confirmed as Everton's new manager with majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri hailing him as a 'strong leader' and pledging 'he can go as far as he wants.' Allardyce, 63, returned from a holiday with his wife Lynne on Wednesday and met Moshiri to thrash out the finer details of his contract.
He will earn a salary approaching £6million a year during the 18-month deal and the former England manager will begin his tenure with Saturday's Premier League fixture against Huddersfield Town at Goodison Park.However, he will attend Wednesday night's home match against West Ham.
Moshiri said: 'I really want to give him the support he needs. He can go as far as he wants. We need a strong leader, he gives us that.'
Everton need an instant change of fortunes as they sit 17th in the Premier League table, just two points above the relegation zone.
Allardyce will have Liverpool legend Sammy Lee in his coaching staff, something that may cause concern among Everton supporters.
But Allardyce wanted to work with his trusted assistant from his stint at Bolton, his one-match tenure in charge of England and his spell at Crystal Palace in the second half of last season.
He also knows Lee will be hugely motivated to succeed at Everton, given the circumstances around his departure from Liverpool in June 2011. Then-manager Kenny Dalglish told Lee he was no longer required, bringing to an end a 35-year association with the club.
Allardyce will complete his backroom team with ex-Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare, goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson and fitness coach Ryland Morgan.
Allardyce's appointment is a surprise after he publicly distanced himself from Everton two weeks ago, saying: 'It never materialised as I thought it would, unfortunately. (There was) such a long time without a decision, so I had to make a decision myself.
'I decided 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 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.'
Everything changed after Everton failed to lure Marco Silva from Watford and the Goodison club suffered another crushing defeat, this time at Southampton, under caretaker boss David Unsworth. Allardyce's advisers were contacted on Sunday night and talks have progressed.
Unsworth will still be in charge for Wednesday evening's game against West Ham.
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