Sam Allardyce says he was “shocked” to be offered the Leeds job – but insists it was an easy decision to make.

The former Wanderers boss will take charge at Elland Road for the final four games of the Premier League season.

Leeds currently sit 17th in the table – only above the drop zone on goal difference following their 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth over the weekend.

Big Sam admits the club is in “a lot of trouble” but hopes to "make a difference" along with assistant Karl Robinson.

“I’m here overlooking the training ground and the fabulous facilities here at Leeds and I’m excited to be involved,” he told talkSPORT. “A tingle runs through your veins when you take over at a football club.

"I know it’s in a lot of trouble, I’ve seen a lot of trouble before. I could’ve done with more time, but we’ve got four games and hopefully we can make a difference and keep this fabulous club in the Premier League."

He added: “At this stage of the season, I thought there would be no jobs. The phone popped up with a name that I knew pretty well, I knew what it was and it took me two seconds to say yes.”

Big Sam’s first game in charge will be against Manchester City this weekend and they also have Newcastle and Tottenham to face before the end of the season.

“They are obviously very difficult games,” he continued. “We can all point out where the easiest fixture might be, but of course there are no easy fixtures in the Premier League.

“We can only do what we can try and achieve, from my point of view, that is stopping the goals from going in.

“We’ve conceded 28 goals in the last 10 or 12 games and that has to stop if we’re going to get out of trouble. We’re needing to score two or three goals every game to win.

“If we’re left to do that, that will be nearly almost an impossible task. I’m doing all I can with the staff to try and get the players out of trouble.”

Big Sam had been out of management for nearly two years since leaving West Brom after the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign.