It is hard to imagine how bad Sam Allardyce is feeling today but he’ll bounce back from this. He worked all his life to get the England job and to go out like he has after such a short time is devastating for him.

I can’t say I agree with entrapping people. You can trap almost anyone in any walk of life if you really want to but that said, Sam made a mistake — he knows he did — and has paid a high price.

I don’t know Sam very well but I know he is a good family man who looks after people in his life. Everyone knows Scott McGarvey in Manchester — he is a bit of a character. He was supposedly down on his luck but thought he had struck on a business opportunity and asked Sam to come along to a meeting to give him some extra credibility.

These businessmen claimed to want to get Sam involved but half of the reason he was there was to help out a mate as he’s since said.

Footballers sign deals with third parties a lot — they endorse boots, clothing, you name it. Roy Hodgson had a contract with Hublot to wear a fantastic watch. A lot of managers have that and I’ve seen some fold their arms a lot on television to show them off for the cameras.

There are spin-offs to being a player or manager of anyone. These businessmen claimed they wanted to give him £400,000 but Sam insisted he wanted to clear it with the FA. He made a mistake being there in the first place and obviously it didn’t look great that he was talking as he did about player transfers. He dived into the trap and got caught.

Once it came out, the FA didn’t have a choice. There is a history of managers getting sacked for off-field issues and the saddest thing is that Sam has now joined that list before really having the chance to make his mark on the squad.

But this won’t be the last job Sam has in football. He hasn’t broken any laws. There will be a team struggling to stay up in the Premier League, they will take one look at his track record and realise Sam is the best man for the job.

Then he will get on with his life again. His reputation will have taken a blow after what’s happened but he is still a good manager. He’ll take his punishment and once a period of time has passed for the dust to settle, he is entitled to come back and carry on with his career.

Now there is another search for an England manager and I think people are tired of it. Fans are getting to the stage where they aren’t bothered about England. It has been such a disaster for so many years that people are more interested in club football, especially with the success of the Premier League.

In Pictures: Sam Allardyce's managerial career 12 show all In Pictures: Sam Allardyce's managerial career 1/12 Sam Allardyce's managerial career in pictures Getty Images 2/12 1991-1992 - Limerick (player-manager) Getty Images 3/12 1992 - Preston North End (caretaker manager) Getty Images 4/12 1994-1996 - Blackpool Getty Images 5/12 1997-1999 - Notts County Getty Images 6/12 1999-2007 - Bolton Wanderers Getty Images 7/12 2007-2008 - Newcastle United Getty Images 8/12 2008-2010 - Blackburn Rovers AFP/Getty Images 9/12 2011-2015 - West Ham United Getty Images 10/12 2015-2016 - Sunderland Getty Images 11/12 2016-2016 (67 days) - England national team Andy Kelvin/Kelvin Media 12/12 2016-2017 - Crystal Palace Getty Images 1/12 Sam Allardyce's managerial career in pictures Getty Images 2/12 1991-1992 - Limerick (player-manager) Getty Images 3/12 1992 - Preston North End (caretaker manager) Getty Images 4/12 1994-1996 - Blackpool Getty Images 5/12 1997-1999 - Notts County Getty Images 6/12 1999-2007 - Bolton Wanderers Getty Images 7/12 2007-2008 - Newcastle United Getty Images 8/12 2008-2010 - Blackburn Rovers AFP/Getty Images 9/12 2011-2015 - West Ham United Getty Images 10/12 2015-2016 - Sunderland Getty Images 11/12 2016-2016 (67 days) - England national team Andy Kelvin/Kelvin Media 12/12 2016-2017 - Crystal Palace Getty Images

The attendances for England matches at Wembley are good but who really wants to watch England play Malta? I’d rather see a competitive game in the lower leagues.

Gareth Southgate has been put in temporary charge and he cannot do any worse than what’s gone before. Okay, if he can’t beat Malta then that should be his last game! But England will win that and then he has three more games to prove himself. If there are a few signs of progress then why not give him a crack at it full time?

We go to every tournament and fail. How can Gareth take us backwards? The only way would be failing to qualify but the formats now make that highly unlikely. Gareth says he hasn’t got the experience but he’s 46 and has been managing for 10 years. I want to see Glenn Hoddle considered for it too at some stage. I like his philosophy on the game but he hasn’t managed for a while and if he doesn’t have many supporters at the FA then give it to Gareth.

People are talking about Arsene Wenger but I wouldn’t want him to have it. I’m English and I want an Englishman in charge. Arsene is a great manager and has been in the country for 20 years but we should be able to find an English manager to lead the national team.

Don’t worry about the players being affected by everything that’s gone on this week — they won’t be bothered. Nigel Pearson is suspended at Derby a few hours before kick-off on Tuesday but they go out and win. Nobody was crying over Nigel. Footballers look after themselves regardless of whether they are playing for their club or country. They talk about the current manager improving on the last one every time — all that matters is whether they are in the team or not.

Gareth just has to build a relationship with the players to get the best out of them and his experience working with some of them for the Under-21s will help that process. Sam barely had a chance.