He said: "Taking Bolton Wanderers throughout Europe would increase my status as a manager - one who is competing in Europe and doing well with a smallish club.
"That would show me as an English manager with tactical and technical awareness and that would give me a great deal of satisfaction.
"Every success you have as a manager helps you should other opportunities come along eventually.
"It would be wrong of me to say I want to stay here for the rest of my life because I'm such an ambitious person.
"I'm not saying I want to go at any stage but there is always the possibility that someone bigger or greater comes along.
"I can't carry on my life without being ambitious, setting other goals and being the best I want to be.
"The credit you might get from achieving things at any one club means you have to move on - and so far I have come from Limerick to Bolton."
Bolton begin their first ever European campaign at the Reebok Stadium against Lokomotiv Plovdiv tonight and, although they are firm favourites to win, Allardyce is wary of the Bulgarian opponents.
"The important thing is we hopefully take a good lead to a team that last season never lost a home game," he said.
"That shows how difficult the return leg might be. But I'm also expecting the first leg to be extremely difficult as they are an unknown commodity and coming to England playing a Premiership club for the first time.
"Hopefully, we'll hit our game and produce enough to win it. I'd settle for 2-0. I'd be delighted with that. Any more than that would be an absolute bonus.
"If we can't get that, then let's get a 1-0 scoreline, go over there and get ourselves through to the groups stages."