The 52-year-old appears set to be appointed Newcastle manager in the near future after holding talks with chairman Freddy Shepherd in the past 48 hours.

Allardyce stood down as Wanderers boss just over two weeks ago, ending an eight-year tenure during which the club reached one major final - in the 2004 League Cup.

"I've had a lot of praise for what I've done, but there's nothing at the end of it," Allardyce said in the Mail on Sunday.

"I want silverware - and I'm determined to get it before my days as a manager are over."

He added: "For me, the level we were at, what was happening, how we were going, I didn't feel comfortable with anymore.

"I needed a change. I started to think about me for the first time in eight years and said it's my time to go."

Allardyce was on a tight budget at the Reebok Stadium but claims he was used to working under such conditions.

He said: "I'd been to Limerick, Blackpool and Notts County and the Bolton job was no different in as much as I always has to operate on a restricted budget.

"There was always plenty of support from the chairman and others."

Allardyce admitted some of those financial constraints were the result of his insistence on employing a huge number of coaches and backroom staff.

However, being allowed a similar set-up at Newcastle will almost certainly have been one of his demands in his recent talks with Shepherd.

"Building the infrastructure was always the most important thing," Allardyce said.

"It has taught me that, wherever I go, it becomes the essential thing to do, to organise a group who are qualified in what they do.

"Building the staff meant we had no money for players."

Allardyce insists there was no contact with Newcastle prior to his resignation but did not rule out taking the job if offered.

"It had nothing to do with any other club, in spite of all the speculation," he said.

"Of course I want to stay in football. It's left open now for whatever might turn up."