Update: I am an ex-Premier League manager and this is why you need to learn CPR News

Former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce is supporting Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign

Former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has 11 professional football clubs, as well as a stint with the England national team, on his managerial CV but the 70-year-old is arguably taking on his most important challenge to date in Greater Manchester.

As part of Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, Allardyce will be walking from Wanderers’ Toughsheet Community Stadium to Wigan Athletic’s

The Brick Community Stadium to raise awareness for the RevivR online tool. Less than one in ten people in 30,000 survive if they suffer a heart attack or cardiac arrest outside of hospital.

However, with the knowledge learnt through RevivR you can have the information needed to help save a life. The 4,000km relay, which has taken in 72 clubs on the way, has seen more than 270,000 people take part in the course so far with a new target set for 360,000 to undertake the training before the EFL play-offs kick-off in May.

Speaking to MEN Sport before this leg of the relay, Allardyce explained why he wanted to be involved. “I have had three stents in my life and I have donated to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) like I donate to many things today as we need charity money for everybody to survive,” he said.

“That aside, having had three stents but never having had a heart attack or cardiac arrest means I want to make people aware that if you are out and about and you are walking around the streets, the town, wherever you are, if you can do this RevivR online tool for 15 minutes, you can have the capabilities of intervening if somebody collapses and start CPR.

“CPR is the most important thing that is applied to somebody in that condition, at that particular time, and that is why this is called Every Minute Matters.”

Allardyce learnt CPR in the early stages of his managerial career and while it is now obligatory that staff at football clubs learn the procedure, he chose to bring it in at whichever club he worked at. CPR and resuscitation is a topic close to the hearts of many at Bolton Wanderers after both Fabrice Muamba and Khalilou Fadiga were saved by the quick actions of specialists.

Before heading off on his leg of the journey, Allardyce reflected on his experience of witnessing Fadiga’s collapse. “The best place to be if something like that happens to anybody is to be at a football ground because of what happens there in terms of intervening,” Allardyce explained when reflecting on the incidents involving Muamba and Fadiga.

“If I remember rightly a Spurs fan jumped in the ambulance and took him [Muamba] to a different hospital to make sure he got the best treatment.

“The most important thing was the CPR to begin with and it was a long, long time that they had to do the CPR but he obviously managed to come round.

“I had a similar thing here with Wanderers years ago with Khalilou Fadiga, he collapsed from a cardiac arrest in the warm-up and it was only our medical staff and the doctor here that revived him so it is a bit of a terrifying event but it happens and that is why you need to do this course. You need to [be able to] hold your nerve and try and help.”

Those wishing to complete the BHF’s RevivR training can do so here. If you would like more information on the Every Minute Matters campaign, you can find that here.