Robson: Top-flight pressure is too much

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Robson knows all too well the pitfalls of managing United after his transformation of a relegation-threatened club into Champions League qualifiers was rewarded with the sack by the previous regime in 2004 - and the former England coach claims the demands placed on managers these days are rapidly becoming intolerable.

"That's the eighth Premiership manager we've lost this season already. The pressure is too much now in the Premiership," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"The dismissals of manager are coming fast and frequent and it's rather sad for the game in many respects. Like most people I was very surprised and stunned by the news.

"I was in his company on Tuesday night, I went to see Newcastle reserves play Sunderland reserves and Sam was there. So hearing the news was without doubt a surprise, and I am stunned."

Hull boss Phil Brown was Allardyce's assistant during part of his time at the Reebok Stadium, and he disagrees with suggestions that United were too big a club for him to handle.

"He managed big players (at Bolton) - Fernando Hierro, Ivan Campo, Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, the list was endless," he said.

"It wasn't just a case of managing a small club, it was managing big mentalities, and I think he went to Newcastle where the hardest part is winning the mentality of the fans over, and I don't think he did.

"I have no doubt in my mind he would have won them round, his ideas were ground-breaking all the time I was working with him at Bolton, and ground-breaking ideas take time to settle in. It's unfortunate he didn't get the time."