Allardyce on England exit: 'Entrapment has won'

Sam Allardyce has spoken out following the end of his 67-day tenure as England manager, declaring himself the victim of "entrapment" by undercover journalists working for The Telegraph.

Related: Allardyce sacked as England manager after sting revelations

The recently appointed gaffer met with people in Manchester he believed to be investors from a Far East-based firm looking to profit from the billion-pound industry of football. In the meeting, he negotiated a £400,000 annual sum for providing tips on how to circumvent third-party ownership rules to get, as he was recorded saying, "five percent of the agent's fee - which is massive for doing about two hours' work." In this agreement he would've had also assumed an ambassadorial position for the fictitious firm.

The laws that Allardyce appeared confident in evading came into effect in England in 2008, with FIFA following suit in 2015.

"Unfortunately it was an error of judgement on my behalf, I've paid the consequences," said Allardyce in his first interview since vacating the England post. "Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that."

The 61-year-old also insisted that he wasn't spurred on by avarice in this money-spinning meeting, but it was rather a good deed for Scott McGarvey, a friend of "20 or 30 years" and agent who was hoping to find employment via the chat.

Despite being upset by an undignified end to the shortest-ever reign for an England manager, Allardyce bid good luck to Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate, who's set to take charge on an interim basis for four matches, and spoke of his intention to take a break before potentially returning to football management.

"The agreement was done very amicably, I apologised to the FA and to all concerned for the unfortunate situation that I put myself in," Allardyce told reporters.

"I have a confidentially agreement, I can't answer any more questions just now. I'm going on holiday to reflect.

"I would like to wish Gareth and all the rest of the England lads the very best."

Related - FA's mindless miscue: How Allardyce's past indiscretions were ignored

When asked of whether his ousting marked his last job at a team's helm, he replied: "Who knows? We'll wait and see."

Allardyce oversaw a late 1-0 win in Slovakia for his only appearance in the Three Lions technical area, with Southgate set to oversee 2018 World Cup qualifying tilts against Malta, Slovenia, and Scotland, and a friendly against Spain, over the next two months.