SAM Allardyce claimed today that the ITV Digital crisis was "half way to destroying football as we know it"!

The Wanderers' boss says the collapse of the beleaguered TV company, which owes the Nationwide League £178 million, has already impacted on the game.

Forecasts suggest hundreds of players will find themselves without clubs this summer but managers and coaches fear they will also come under more pressure than ever in an already insecure profession.

Allardyce believes the League Managers' Association, of which he is an active and vociferous member, could be a positive influence but has been repeatedly ignored as the power brokers have tackled the current financial crisis.

"I would hope we (the LMA) would do as much as we could to protect the whole industry," he said. "But there's very little that we can do.

"We can come up with what we think is right but it's highly unlikely the governing bodies would take any notice of us. If we had the power of the players perhaps yes, but we haven't, unfortunately. Our job is going to be the first affected - not just by redundancies or sackings but by the increasing pressure that's going to be placed upon us to work with more limited and restricted budgets and yet have that fan-based demand for success that's placed on you by the football club and its supporters. That makes life even more difficult than it was in the first place."

Football fears the ITV Digital affair will have dire and far-reaching consequences but Allardyce believes some clubs have used the collpase as a convenient excuse to change personnel.

"It's already stricken a few - like Roy McFarland (Torquay) and Alan Buckley (Lincoln)," he suggested. "The excuses have been made that, because of ITV Digital, clubs have had to sack their managers. And if you've got 55 going in one season you can be nothing more than extremely concerned about the situation.

"If you expect the managers to be the 'expertise' running the business, then how can you sack more than 50 per cent of the expertise within that business? That tells you the business is not right and is not run correctly. It's a massive problem for us to turn that trend around to try and convince owners and chairmen of clubs that they are doing the wrong thing to try to create success.

"But history keeps telling you that doesn't happen."

Allardyce believes regulations to protect managers' rights which are in force in many European countries and adopted by the Premier League clubs should be enforced in the Nationwide League - by law, if necessary. Clubs who sack their managers are not allowed to appoint a successor until the departing manager's contract is settled.

"If you are going to get the sack, the one thing you want is the money you are entitled to, without being left high and dry," he insisted. "If the Nationwide League does not adopt the same regulation as the Premier League then the government should step in."

The Reebok boss sees some hope on the horizon in the shape of increasing crowds and believes a successful World Cup will see audiences continue to rise next season.

"If we have to lose out TV money then at least we know our fan base is increasing," he said hopefully. "But we are all going to have to cut our cloth accordingly. Every club in every division should only spend what they can afford to spend."