Johnson guilty plea shocks Allardyce

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has said that Adam Johnson's guilty plea to a child sex charge came as a "massive shock" to him as he was under the impression the former England winger was pleading not guilty. The Premier League club sacked Johnson last month after he admitted at the beginning of his trial to kissing and grooming a 15-year-old girl. The 28-year-old, who has played 12 times for England, is facing a lengthy jail term after being found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child while being cleared of another on Wednesday. During the trial, Johnson claimed he had admitted to the club on May 4 last year that he had kissed the teenager and sent her sexually explicit messages. Allardyce said he had no knowledge that the player was guilty and felt "let down" by his behaviour. "All I knew was he was pleading not guilty on all charges," Allardyce told the BBC yesterday. "It was a massive shock.

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