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Sam Allardyce is the right man to take the vacant manager's job at Sunderland, says former Black Cats boss Gus Poyet.

Sunderland are only considering managers with Premier League experience as they seek a successor to Dick Advocaat, who with them 19th in the table.

Former Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle boss Allardyce, 60, has been out of work since leaving West Ham in May.

"Sam Allardyce should be Sunderland's next appointment," said Poyet, 47.

"But first of all I don't know if Sam would like to go and maybe I'm putting it a little on Sam and he is going to kill me next time I see him."

Allardyce's nine-month spell in charge of Sunderland's north-east rivals Newcastle ended in January 2008.

"He had an experience before in the north east," added Poyet, who was replaced by Advocaat in March. "He knows the Premier League inside out and he knows exactly what a team needs to do to stay in the Premier League."

The Black Cats are five points from Premier League safety after failing to win any of their opening eight league games of the season.

They are looking for an eighth manager in seven years but their next appointment will not be former USA coach Bob Bradley, who had been linked with the job but has no Premier League experience.

"It is a little bit too many," said Poyet, who guided Sunderland from relegation trouble in 2014 but had won just one of 12 top-flight games before he left the Stadium of Light.

"It is clear now that it is not the manager. Sometimes when a team is not working you change the manager and things go well and you can say 'good decision' - but when it happens four or five times, come on, be realistic.

"There is something that is not working there. If I knew what it was I would call the chairman tomorrow, but I don't. Fortunately it is not my job."