Former England manager Steve McClaren has expressed sympathy for Sam Allardyce and claimed he had paid the price for a lack of privacy in modern-day football.
Allardyce was forced to step down as England boss on Tuesday after just 67 days in charge, having been caught telling undercover Daily Telegraph reporters how to "get around" transfer rules, as well as other embarrassing remarks about his immediate predecessor Roy Hodgson and the Football Association.
Speaking at the Soccerex football conference in Manchester, the 55-year-old McClaren said: "It's been a hugely disappointing couple of days for English football and I'm very sad for what has happened to Sam.
"It could have happened to any of us in a high-profile position and Sam has innocently paid the price and it just shows where sport is, at the elite level, that privacy can only be found in the four walls of your home.
"And I think a lot of managers, who have been targeted, have unfortunately found that out, too.
"We need closure on this so the newspapers and reporters should give their information to the FA so they can step in - if there is anything there, it's got to be cut out of the game.
"Personally, I'm very sad and disappointed. Professionally, I think if there is information about anything bad the FA should deal with it because nobody wants to see a corrupt game."
McClaren managed England for 18 games between 2006 and 2007 but was sacked when the team failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship.
He then returned to club management with FC Twente, Derby and Newcastle, but has been out of work since being sacked by the Magpies in March.
Earlier on Wednesday, Allardyce spoke to reporters at his home in Lancashire before leaving for a holiday in Spain.
Referring to the meetings that were secretly filmed by the Telegraph's reporters, Allardyce accepted that his agreement to give speeches in the Far East for £400,000 only days after accepting the £3million-a-year England job was "an error in judgement on my behalf".
But he added: "Entrapment has won on this occasion."
Source: PA
