Gael Givet Tells Hilarious Story Of Sam Allardyce's Motivation Tactics Going Horribly Wrong

Gael Givet has told a hilarious story of how Sam Allardyce attempt to motivate his players went horribly wrong.

The former Blackburn defender has told L'Equipe that his manager showed clips from movies '300' and 'Gladiator' to motivate his side for a game against Manchester United in 2010.

However, his players clearly didn't get the message and ended up losing the game 7-1.

Givet was an unused substitute in the game but he remembers the incident fondly.

He said:

"We were all like, 'Ahhhhh!' [mimics soldier with sword]. After 30 minutes, we were 3-0 down. We lost 7-1."

United forward Dimitar Berbatov scored five against Rovers while Ji-Sung Park and Nani also chipped in with goals.

Chris Samba scored a late consolation so perhaps he took the message of the fearsome warriors to heart.

It was no shame losing to a United side that went on to win the Premier League but the humiliating defeat is a stark contrast to the warriors in the movie.

Using 300 as motivation seems quite strange considering the titular characters all fall to defeat at the end of the movie.

Allardyce went on to leave Blackburn a few weeks later after disagreement with the club's infamous owners Venkys.

It's not the first time that managers have used film in an attempt to motivate their players.

Pep Guardiola infamously commissioned a Gladiator inspired video before Barcelona's Champions League final game with United in 2009.

Clips from the movie are spliced in-between his side in action.

It's often cited as one of the most unique motivational ideas in football management and was an early insight into the Spaniard's genius.

The focus of the video was on the players as the current Manchester City boss didn't want to be eulogised himself.

The idea worked in Pep's favour as they managed to overcome United 2-0 in Rome.

Perhaps Allardyce thought he could pull off some of Pep's magic.