Leeds manager Sam Allardyce said the club’s players had not been good enough after Sunday’s 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham sealed Premier League relegation. Allardyce had been Leeds’ last throw of the dice with four games remaining, but after three defeats and a draw the 68-year-old was unable to mask the club’s systemic failings and save them. He said: “Most of it comes down to how good are your players? These players have tried very hard while I’ve been here and I can’t fault their effort. “But as a squad, they haven’t been good enough by the fact that they’re in the bottom three in the Premier League. “I would have hoped I could have got a little bit more out of them, so I take responsibility for that. “But it’s a tough old world when things start failing and when they start failing and confidence starts going then it’s very difficult to claw it back and we’ve been unable to do that.” Leeds’ three-year stay in the top flight is over and Allardyce made it clear poor player recruitment had been the biggest factor in their demise. “General recruitment is the number one factor for any manager or any coach or any head coach or any club to be successful,” he said. “Without top-level recruitment, a manager and a coach and the staff are only as good as the players they have available and their ability. “Actual quality is all about recruitment because better players and more intelligent players make you a better coach, make everybody at the club better, make it a happy club going forward.” Leeds’ ultra-slim hopes of avoiding the drop on the final day appeared dashed in the only the second minute against Tottenham when Harry Kane fired the visitors into an early lead. The Elland Road faithful responded with raucous defiance and that quickly turned to anger as they vented their fury at the Leeds board. Leeds wasted several first-half chances and were duly punished – as they have been all season – when Pedro Porro put Tottenham 2-0 up with a brilliant angled finish two minutes into the second half. Jack Harrison reduced the deficit, only for Kane to curl home his 30th league goal of the season two minutes later. Tottenham substitute Lucas Moura then compounded Leeds’ misery when he waltzed through to add a fourth in stoppage time. Leeds fans chanted ‘sack the board’ and called on chairman Andrea Radrizzani to sell his majority stake in the club to American co-owners 49ers Enterprises. I haven’t said I’m staying yet so there's a lot of discussion that needs (to be had) both ways on what's going to happen Sam Allardyce The financial arm of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers holds a 44 per cent stake with a deal in place to buy the remaining shares before January 2024. But that was contingent on Leeds being in the top flight and relegation has muddied the waters. Allardyce urged the club to quickly resolve their ownership issue, but it remains to be seen who will be in control as they bid to bounce straight back from the Sky Bet Championship. “I haven’t said I’m staying yet so there’s a lot of discussion that needs (to be had) both ways on what’s going to happen,” Allardyce added. “Whether that’s me or whoever that might be if it’s not me. I’m not committing myself to say I am or not staying just yet.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lawrence Shankland earns Scotland call ahead of June double-header Luciano Spalletti set to leave Napoli after leading club to Serie A success Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to build on the foundations laid this season

Nine more women are accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault in a lawsuit that alleges he used what they call his “enormous power, fame and prestige” to victimize them

'Bachelor in Paradise' Season 9 unveils the identity of the mystery bombshell

A Houston man who went missing as a teen more than eight years ago has been found safe, the Texas Center for the Missing said.

Bad weather eased in central Greece on Friday leaving widespread flooding and infrastructure damage across the farming region, which has been battered by two powerful storms in less than a month. Municipal workers were handing out bottled water in the storm-hit city of Volos, where power and water outages remained in some districts for a third day, while rescue crews used excavators to clear debris-strewn roads blocking access to remote nearby areas. The two storms, Daniel and Elias, struck central Greece and the island of Evia over three weeks in September, killing several hundred thousand farm animals and damaging highways, secondary roads and the rail network. Despite the improving weather, the risk of additional flooding remains high in several central cities and towns as river banks remain vulnerable to high water levels, authorities said. The government said more than 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in damages had been caused before the latest storm hit. It has promised residents emergency aid while seeking financial assistance from the European Union. The search for a missing pilot continued Friday, a day after a helicopter flying in the bad weather went missing. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Multiple dogs being driven to a police K-9 training facility died in Indiana on Thursday after the air conditioning in the truck transporting them failed in a "freak event," police say.

Just a bit high.

By Laura Sanicola U.S. refining profits are expected to fall from last year's records but remain strong as

A prosecutor says she won’t seek charges against police in North Carolina’s capital city whose officers repeatedly used stun guns on a man who subsequently died

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON The CEO of privacy-oriented search engine DuckDuckGo said its talks with Apple about a

'I would love to say I was brave and bold. I was just stupid,' said Kelly Clarkson

By Carolina Mandl NEW YORK Global hedge funds reduced their exposure to mega cap tech stocks in recent