Sam Allardyce mimicked his predecessor Roy Hodgson’s speech impediment by calling him “Woy” and saying he was no use as a public speaker because “he’d send them all to sleep”.

The England manager also suggested Hodgson had “just collapsed” as the national team crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland, and that he had been “too indecisive”.

He said that Gary Neville, Hodgson’s assistant manager, had been “the wrong influence” and should have been told to “sit down and shut up”.

Allardyce said the squad of players Hodgson took to the tournament was too young. He also told undercover reporters posing as Far East businessmen about the England chances of players including Joe Hart, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.