SAM Allardyce has ruled himself out of the running to be the new Bolton Wanderers manager.

Many supporters have called for the 70-year-old to be considered by the club as they search for a replacement for Ian Evatt, who left by mutual consent on Wednesday.

Allardyce, a legend both on the pitch and in the dugout with the Whites, said on his podcast No Tippy Tappy Football, in association with Footy Accumulators, that he is not angling to fill the vacant position at the Toughsheet.

“My passion for Bolton is always there,” he said. “I was born in the Midlands but Bolton is my town and my club, and everybody knows that because of the great times I had as a player and as the manager.

“If I can help I would, if they asked me to, not as the manager though. I think that needs to go to somebody that is ready to take the club to the next level and the board is hopefully there to support him.

“I wouldn't want the job, the fear of them thinking if I went back into help that I would be there to take their job is just total nonsense. If I wanted to go back and I wanted the manager's job, I'd say ‘Well, I'd like to go back to Bolton’. But I wouldn't. I'd like to go back and help him if I could but not as the manager.”

Allardyce did praise the job done by Evatt, who took the club out of League Two, won the Papa Johns Trophy and guided them to two successive play-off campaigns. But he said fan pressure eventually forced the board into a decision.

He said: “I have to be fair, Ian did a great job at Bolton, but unfortunately for whatever reason this season when the fans turn on you a little bit, which appears to be the case, then the board listens, don't they. And when the board is getting that pressure then they make a decision. But many good coaches would want that position.”

Wanderers remain on the hunt for a new manager with Steven Schumacher continuing as the bookmakers’ current favourite but Allardyce has thrown his weight behind another candidate who has Premier League experience.

He said: “Rob Edwards with what he did at Luton should be the top choice if he's ready to overcome his disappointment for what happened to him at Luton this year. It's quite strange the demise of Luton and why it happened to him like it did. It would be interesting to find out what he thought.”