West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce says it can be difficult for the director of football to work in England.

Allardyce was responding to Damien Comolli's sacking at Liverpool.

He wrote in the London Evening Standard: "Over here, if the manager doesn't pick his football director, or at least have some input, you might end up dealing with someone you can't get on with.

"Then, when you need to talk to the owner but have to go through that same football director, it can lead to big problems.

"If you can get it right, then there is no reason why it should not be successful. The right man will have good communication skills so he can talk to managers and owners in a language that both can understand.

"Over here, managers are realistically directors of football but many clubs distrust the use of the term 'director' because it means you are on the other side - away from the football.

"When I was at Bolton they wouldn't let me make Mike Forde the director of performance analysis because they baulked at that word, 'director.'

"He is now the football operations director at Chelsea.

"In the case of Comolli and Kenny Dalglish, there doesn't seem to be a conflict if the statements are to be believed. If that is the case, it must have been something else."