Daily WHUFC News - 26th April 2014

Memorial service for Dylan
WHUFC.com
A memorial service for Dylan Tombides is to be held on Monday afternoon at St Paul's Church
25.04.2014

West Ham United can confirm that a memorial service for the late Dylan Tombides is to be held on Monday 28 April at St Paul's Church, Woodford Bridge.
The service is due to commence at 3pm and will be led by Club chaplain Reverend Alan Bolding. With Dylan's family and friends and the extended West Ham United family in attendance, it is not possible to accommodate supporters inside the church. However, there will be speakers outside relaying the service to the public so any Hammers fans or members of the public seeking to pay their respects are welcome to attend. For those wishing to do so, the full address is St Paul's Church, Woodford Bridge, Cross Road, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8BT. Dylan's family would like to thank the Club and the fans for their continued support at this difficult time.

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West Brom match preview
WHUFC.com
All the need to know information ahead of Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion
25.04.2014

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 26 APRIL 2014
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: MIKE DEAN

iPHONE APP I TWITTER I FACEBOOK I PODCAST I INSTAGRAM I YOUTUBE

Introduction
• West Ham United travel to the Hawthorns on Saturday hoping to avoid a fourth straight defeat when they take on West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premier League.
• Liverpool, Arsenal and Crystal Palace have all proved just too strong for the Hammers in their recent weeks, with a Mile Jedinak penalty condemning Sam Allardyce's team to a narrow loss against the Eagles last time out.
• A Matt Jarvis header gave the Hammers the lead in their last away trip against Arsenal, before the Gunners surged ahead to win the match 3-1.
• With two games left to play after this fixture, West Ham will be looking to make absolutely certain of their Premier League safety with three points against the Baggies.
• The Hammers are currently 12th in the table with 37 points, four places and four points better off than Pepe Mel's team.
• West Brom return to home turf following a 3-1 loss against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.
• The Baggies' last two matches at the Hawthorns have both ended 3-3 against Cardiff City and Tottenham respectively, with the draw against Spurs seeing the hosts let slip a three-goal lead.
• Mel's team are the division's draw specialists this season with 15 of their 34 games ending all square so far.
• The Midlands outfit are also without a win in their last seven outings in front of their home crowd, with six draws and a defeat from those matches.

Team news
West Ham United
• James Collins is back in full training and is in contention to make a return from the calf injury which has sidelined him recently.
• Fellow defender Guy Demel missed the home defeat against Crystal Palace through illness but should be fit to face the Baggies.
• Striker Marco Borriello has been absent with a calf injury and will miss out again against West Brom.

West Bromwich Albion
• Liam Ridgewell was forced off in the defeat against City on Monday with a knee injury and Pepe Mel has already indicated that Chris Brunt will fill in at left-back.
• Centre-back Gareth McAuley missed the game at the Etihad with a calf injury but could be back in time to face the Hammers.
• Zoltan Gera is also likely to be absent for the hosts with a hamstring injury.

Last time out
West Ham United 0-1 Crystal Palace
Barclays Premier League
19 April 2014
West Ham United: Adrian; McCartney, Tomkins, Reid, Armero; Nolan (Nocerino 85), Noble, Diame; Downing (J.Cole 78), Carroll, Jarvis (C.Cole 70)
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Taylor, O'Brien, Johnson

Manchester City 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
Barclays Premier League
21 April 2014
West Bromwich Albion: Foster, Ridgewell, Olsson, Jones, Dawson, Brunt, Amalfitano, Mulumbu (Morrison 84), Dorrans, Sessegnon (Berahino 76), Vydra (Anichebe 60)
Subs not used: Myhill, Yacob, Reid, Lugano
Goals: Dorrans 16

Previous meeting
West Ham and West Brom met back in December for the final game of 2013, and what a game it turned out to be. There was six goals and controversy aplenty at the Boleyn Ground as the points were shared. Joe Cole gave the Hammers an early lead before two goals in five minutes from Nicolas Anelka - who was later banned for eight matches by the FA for his quenelle celebration - sent the Baggies in ahead at the break. Modibo Maiga and Kevin Nolan put the home side back in front, but they couldn't hold on as Saido Berahino struck an equaliser.
West Ham United 3-3 West Bromwich Albion
Barclays Premier League
28 December 2013
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Tomkins (Demel 10), McCartney, Rat, J Cole (Collison 83), Noble, C Cole (Maiga 45), Nolan, Jarvis
Subs not used: Adrian, Taylor, Diarra, Chambers
Goals: J Cole 4, Maiga 65, Nolan 67
West Bromwich Albion: Foster, Jones, Ridgewell, Lugano (Amalfitano 68), Olsson, McAuley, Morrison (Yacob 78), Brunt, Anelka, Berahino (Sessegnon 85), Mulumbu
Subs not used: Myhill, Sinclair, Vydra, Dawson
Goals: Anelka 40, 45; Berahino 69

Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
28 December 2013 West Ham United 3-3 West Bromwich Albion
30 March 2013 West Ham United 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
16 December 2012 West Bromwich Albion 0-0 West Ham United
12 February 2011 West Bromwich Albion 3-3 West Ham United
10 November 2010 West Ham 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
16 March 2009 West Ham United 0-0 West Bromwich Albion



Overall record v West Bromwich Albion
P94 W 36 D 21 L 37
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
West Bromwich Albion
2012/13 Premier League 8th (49 points)
2011/12 Premier League 10th (47 points)
2010/11 Premier League 11th (47 points)
2009/10 Championship 2nd (91 points, promoted to Premier League)

2008/09 Premier League 20th (32 points, relegated to Championship)

2007/08 Championship 1st (81 points, promoted to Premier League)

2006/07 Championship 4th (76 points)

2005/06 Premier League 19th (30 points, relegated to Championship)

2004/05 Premier League17th (34 points)

2003/04 Championship 2nd (86 points, promoted to Premier League)


Background
• Today's fixture marks the 95th competitive meeting between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers have won 36, the Baggies have tasted victory on 37 occasions and there have been 21 draws. It will also be the twelfth time the two clubs have met in the Premier League.
• The two clubs met for the first time on 13 January 1913 in an FA Cup first round tie at the Hawthorns. Fred Harrison scored for the Southern League First Division Hammers as they earned a 1-1 draw against the Baggies. The game was replayed three days later with that tie ending in a 2-2 draw at the Boleyn Ground, before a 3-0 win back at the Hawthorns finally settled matters in West Ham's favour.
• The Hammers recorded their biggest-ever win over the Baggies on 16 April 1965. Striker Brian Dear had a day to remember as he netted five goals within the space of 20 minutes either side of half-time in a 6-1 home Division One victory. Martin Peters had earlier opened the scoring.
• West Brom recorded their biggest win over West Ham back on 24 October 1925, romping to a 7-1 Division One victory at The Hawthorns. Jimmy Ruffell netted West Ham's consolation goal.
• West Ham and West Brom met in the 1966 Football League Cup final. The sixth and last League Cup final to be played over two legs, the Hammers won the first game 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground, with Geoff Hurst and Johnny Byrne cancelling out Jeff Astle's opener. The second leg was a different story, however, as the Baggies clinched a 4-1 win to secure a 5-3 aggregate success.
• West Ham have a good recent record at the Hawthorns and have suffered only one defeat in their last ten visits at the home of the Baggies. Five of those visits have ended in West Ham wins, the latest of which coming in May 2006 when a Nigel Reo-Coker goal won the match.
Referee
• The man in the middle for Saturday's fixture is Mike Dean.
• Dean last refereed the Hammers in a 2-1 home win against Hull City on 26 March 2014. He also took charge of the corresponding fixture earlier in the season when the sides played out a 3-3 draw at the Boleyn Ground.
• In all, he has refereed West Ham 37 times, with the Hammers winning 14, losing eleven and drawing twelve of those matches.
• The 45-year-old began refereeing in 1985, starting out his career in senior football in the Northern Premier League.
• In 2004, Dean took charge of his first international match, a friendly between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland at Amsterdam ArenA. That same year, he took control of the FA Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester United.
• In May 2006, he refereed the Championship play-off final between Leeds United and Watford at the Millennium Stadium. In 2008, he was the man-in-the-middle for the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium.
• On Saturday, Dean will be assisted by Jake Collin and John Brooks, while the fourth official at the Hawthorns will be Mike Jones.

General information
• The forecast for Saturday's match is light rain with temperatures around 12C (53F).
• West Ham United's allocation of tickets for Saturday's match are now SOLD OUT. If you're travelling to the game via coach you will need to be on board by the time they leave the Boleyn Ground at 10am.

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Nolan gearing up for strong finish
WHUFC.com
Kevin Nolan wants the Hammers to finish 2013/14 with a bang
25.04.2014

Kevin Nolan is keen to kickstart a strong end to the campaign with three points at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. The Hammers have been stuck on 37 points for the last three games after losing to Liverpool, Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Nolan wants to end that losing run at the Hawthorns and, in doing so, secure mathematical safety for the Hammers. He said: "It's been three games too long for us getting to 40 points. We've been disappointed with those results, especially as we were doing so well beforehand. "You get punished at this level if you don't finish teams off and that's one of the factors why we are where we are going into the last three games. "Hopefully we can go to West Brom, get the win and pull further away from the relegation zone, which will allow us to look up again for the last two. "It's important for us to go out with a bang. We've got three major games coming up. "After West Brom we've got the local derby next weekend, and that's going to be a great send off so hopefully we can send all our home fans home happy. "Then after that we've got a lovely trip to Manchester where we could be playing against a team going for the title. That would be another fantastic fixture to be involved with. "We're hoping that by the time we go there we'll be safe and go there with no real pressure and hopefully give them a good game. Who knows, with the quality we've got on our day we can beat anyone."

Nolan notched when the Hammers drew 3-3 with West Brom at the Boleyn Ground in December and he is targeting another goal this weekend - along with keeping the hosts quiet. He explained: "We know they're fast starters, in the last few games they've gone up early doors and we can't afford to let that happen to us on Saturday because it's always hard to get back into it in the Premier League. "They've had a couple of defeats in their last couple of games, but it's never easy in the Premier League, whoever you're playing. Every loose ball, everything is competed for, so we've got to make sure we match that on Saturday and if we do I'm sure our quality will shine through in the end. "We need to silence them and then the anxiety levels go up. We sort of owe them one, because I thought we deserved to beat them at our place just after Christmas. "I scored that day and they've dried up of late, but it's not through the lack of trying. The chances have not been there, so I'm hoping that me and the big man can get back into our routine, I get a couple of chances on Saturday and I stick them in the back of the net. "Then we can all go home happy looking forward to another season in the Premier League."

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Cole looking to pastures new
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 25th April 2014
By: Staff Writer

Joe Cole believes he is unlikely to be offered a contract extension by West Ham at the end of the current campaign. The 31-year-old midfielder returned to the Boleyn Ground for a second spell with the club in January 2013 and signed a contract to take him until the end of the current season. However Paddington-born Cole believes he'll be playing his football elsewhere next season having failed to secure a first team place under Sam Allardyce. "If I could stay and play then that would be ideal, but it doesn't look like I'm the manager's first choice," he told Sky Sports. "I'm being used here and there and sparingly but at my age and where I am in my career I want to enjoy my football. I love competing and just I want to play. "If you look at the small amount of time I've played on the pitch I think I've performed reasonably well. But I still want more. The fire still burns; I still want to play and play at the highest level I can play."

Cole also revealed that he felt his best position is in the centre of midfield - unlike the wide role he was first given by Glenn Roeder more than a decade ago and where he has played much of his football since. "I'll be looking next year to play more centrally," he said. "Being a winger for the past 11 or 12 years you lose a bit of patience, you want to come inside. Playing central will be something I will be looking for in my next club or if I stay at West Ham. "People will tell you I'm a good professional, I work hard. If you look at the curves on my career, it was going up, up and up and then I got my injury. That has taken a little bit out of my game. "A lot of football is people's perception of what you could have done, what you should have done. But I'm happy with what I've done."

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West Brom host West Ham at The Hawthorns
By Subhankar Mondal - Follow me on Twitter @subhankarjourno. Last Updated: 25/04/14 10:44am
SSN

West Bromwich Albion will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday when they host West Ham United at The Hawthorns in the Premier League.
A 3-3 home draw against Tottenham Hotspur and a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City in their last two games have left the Baggies just three points above the relegation zone. Pepe Mel's side will head into the encounter against the Hammers with 33 points from 34 matches and having won just three games at home.
Visitors West Ham aren't entirely safe at the moment either. Sam Allardyce's team are seven points above the drop zone, but have played a game more than some of the sides below them in the league table. The Hammers have lost their last three matches in the Premier League, the latest coming last weekend when they went down 1-0 to Crystal Palace at Upton Park. West Ham have won just four league matches on the road and have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last nine.

Paul Merson's prediction

West Ham at home is a nice game for West Brom and they need to get a result and not rely on the teams below them losing. The problem for Pepe Mel is they have got a couple of injuries and Chris Brunt might have to play at full-back - and the likes of Matt Jarvis or Stewart Downing should be able to get some success out of that. If the wingers get crosses in to Andy Carroll then anything can happen and I think it could be a draw. That will leave West Brom in a bit of trouble, but I think they have got enough in midfield and defence to survive. They are not too good going forward, but in the other positions they are decent.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2

West Brom
Last 6
Man City (a)3-1
Tottenham (h)3-3
Norwich (a)0-1
Cardiff (h)3-3
Hull City (a)2-0
Swansea (a)1-2
West Brom centre-back Gareth McAuley will undergo a late fitness test ahead of the match. McAuley sat out the defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium on Monday due to a calf problem that Albion are hoping he will have recovered from in time to face West Ham. Fellow defender Liam Ridgewell will definitely miss out because of the knee injury he sustained in the City encounter, while on-loan winger Scott Sinclair is available again after being ineligible for that meeting with his parent club.

West Ham
Last 6
C Palace (h)0-1
Arsenal (a)3-1
Liverpool (h)1-2
Sunderland (a)1-2
Hull City (h)2-1
Man Utd (h)0-2

West Ham midfielder Matt Taylor has been given compassionate leave to be with his ill daughter ahead of Saturday's encounter. Italian striker Marco Borriello, who joined the London club on loan from Roma in January for the rest of the season, is sidelined with a calf injury. Defender Guy Demel could return to the team having been laid low by a virus.

Opta Stats

West Ham have lost six of their last eight Premier League games.
Andy Carroll has hit only 10 shots on target in 12 league appearances this season.
West Brom have won fewer games than any other Premier League side this season.

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Joe Cole expects to leave West Ham at the end of the season
Last Updated: 25/04/14 8:05pm
SSN

West Ham midfielder Joe Cole says it is unlikely he will stay at the club beyond this season. The 32-year-old rejoined the Hammers - with whom he started his career - from Liverpool in January 2013 on an 18-month deal, which runs out at the end of this season. He has started just six matches this season and rarely in his favoured position of central midfield. And the former Chelsea player accepts it is likely he will have to move elsewhere in search of first-team football.
When asked on Sky Sports' Weekend Warm-up if he would be staying at Upton Park, he replied: "At the moment it's probably looking unlikely. "If I could stay and play then that would be ideal but that doesn't look like I'm the manager's first choice. "I'm being used here and there and sparingly. But at my age and where I am in my career I want to enjoy my football. I love competing and just I want to play. "If you look at the small amount of time I've played on the pitch I think I've performed reasonably well. "I'll be looking next year to play in a more central role. Being a winger in the past 10-11-12 years you lose a bit of patience, you want to come inside. "Playing central will be something I will be looking for in my next club or if I stay at West Ham. "So we will sit down in a few weeks, I imagine, and get a plan for next year."

During his time at Chelsea, who he joined from West Ham in 2003 and remained at until 2010, Cole won the Premier League three times, the FA Cup on three occasions and the League Cup twice.

Player Profile
Appearances 11 (8)
Goals 4
Assists 0
Yellows 2
Reds 0

Current Season
He has also amassed 56 England caps and was included in the national squad for four major tournaments.

Expectation

Cole admits that had to combat high expectations when he broke into the West Ham first team as a teenager and also saw his progress curtailed somewhat by a cruciate ligament injury in 2009 but he still believes he has fulfilled his potential. "It's perception in football and there was a lot of pressure put on me as a youngster but I think I've achieved what I'm capable of achieving," he said. "People will tell you I'm a good professional, I work hard. If you look at the curves on my career, it was going up, up and up and then I got my injury. That has taken a little bit out of my game. "A lot of it in football is people's perception of what you could have done, what you should have done. "To be able to play at Chelsea for such long time at a top club it's an amazing achievement. I'm happy with what I've done." I still want more. The fire still burns. I still want to play and play at the highest level I can play." This weekend, two of Cole's former teams - Chelsea and Liverpool - face each other in a game that could go a long way to deciding the outcome of this season's title race. Having worked with both Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who was a coach under the Portuguese during Cole's time at Stamford Bridge, the player can see a lot of similarities between the two. "You can see how studious they are with their approach and the fact that they are at the training ground every day and every session," added Cole. "That's what they have in common and I think Brendan takes a lot of that from Jose." "They are very similar."

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Sam Allardyce warns West Ham players to stay focused ahead of trip to West Brom
Last Updated: 25/04/14 3:00pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has warned his players any minor lapse in concentration at West Brom on Saturday could prove very costly. He feels his side's efforts in recent weeks should have yielded more rewards but for a lack of focus from his players at key moments. "We don't want any major decisions going against us, but more importantly I don't want my players to start making the basic errors they have made in the last three games which have cost us very dear," said Allardyce. "We have been very satisfied with overall performances, but at certain times mistakes have been made which shouldn't have been made and we have been punished heavily for them."

West Ham won four successive league matches in February to put daylight between themselves and the battle for Premier League survival but only managed two wins from five in March and since then have followed defeat to Liverpool and Arsenal with a 1-0 home loss against rejuvenated Crystal Palace. With his side seeking a single win to reach the fabled 'safety' of the 40 point mark, Allardyce knows the trip to the Hawthorns will not be easy with West Brom fighting to move more than three points clear of the relegation zone. Since February, Albion's results have included home draws against Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Fulham and Cardiff plus wins at Swansea and Norwich. "The points against the bigger clubs are just your bonus, the icing on your cake, but competing against the teams around you to win and draw against them has always been critical in where you finish the season."

Sam Allardyce
Allardyce knows all too well the importance for his side to retain composure against West Brom, with their final two matches against Tottenham and Manchester City. "The pressure will be pretty intense because we all know what is at stake. We have to handle it better than West Brom," said Allardyce.
"They have had a resurgence and at their home ground have been so close to so many victories and only slipped up in the dying seconds of two particularly thrilling 3-3 draws. "We don't want to be in that position where we are trying to fight our way back from behind on Saturday. "We want to be keeping a level playing field for as long as possible and our goal would be to do what we did at Sunderland, which was score the first goal and then go from there." He added: "There is always a need for your team to gain points against teams who have been below you or certainly not lose against them. That became really apparent when we won at Sunderland a few weeks ago, that the distance we put between us and them was critical for us at that time. "That has always been the case and it will certainly be the case against West Brom. "The points against the bigger clubs are just your bonus, the icing on your cake, but competing against the teams around you to win and draw against them has always been critical in where you finish the season."

Hammers goalkeeper Adrian - who played under Baggies boss Pepe Mel when the Spaniard was at Real Betis - is confident West Ham can produce the required performance. "Here in the Premier League, every game is hard. At the moment, when the season is nearly finished, the games are even tougher," he told the club's official website. "West Brom are only three points above the relegation places, they really need these three points, but we are going there to win the game."

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Chelsea blew title chances against Prem's smaller teams taunts West Ham boss Allardyce
Apr 25, 2014 22:30 By Neil McLeman
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has taunted Jose Mourinho by claiming Chelsea blew the title against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League. The Blues boss accused West Ham of playing "19th century football" after their goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in January. Now the Irons boss has re-ignited the feud after Chelsea's defensive midweek performance in the Champions League. Speaking about their spat, Big Sam said: "He was just a frustrated man who we were able to get a point against in the end. Since then he has lost his own home record to Sunderland which he will bevery disappoited about. "Really, Chelsea in terms of winning the League would have nearly already clinched it had they not drawn with us and lost to Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. "I don't know Jose that well but I know what he is like. Jose will be kicking himself that he has not won it on those results."

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West Ham's Andy Carroll is an English Diego Costa claims West Brom boss Pepe Mel
Apr 25, 2014 22:30 By John Wardle
The Mirror

West Brom boss Pepe Mel reckons Andy Carroll could terrorise La Liga after likening him to Atletico Madrid ace Diego Costa. The 16th-placed Baggies must try to stop Carroll on Saturday in a game Mel has called a cup final for his team. They sit just three points above the drop zone, yet anything but a victory could see that worsen, with bottom-three sides Sunderland and Cardiff facing off on Sunday. Mel hopes defender Gareth McAuley (calf) will be passed fit for an aerial battle with Carroll, a player who reminds him of Atletico's £32m-rated Chelsea target Costa. The Spaniard said : "Carroll really is a player of exceptional quality and I think he is a good option for the English national team at the World Cup. "What Carroll needs is to have good wingers who can put in crosses for him to finish, and in Italy and Spain there are some very good attacking sides. "He could be successful outside of England. Look at Diego Costa, of Atletico, who plays in a very aggressive way, he has been very successful in Spain. "In Spain, Andy Carroll could have some really great seasons and he could be a really important player in a big Spanish side."

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Sam Allardyce tells West Ham fans: Forget flair and entertainment, it's all about winning
Apr 25, 2014 22:29 By Neil McLeman
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce has told unhappy Hammers fans he will not change his style because football is only about results. Big Sam has previously dismissed the "West Ham way" as "not winning" and a "delusion". After the Irons were booed off Upton Park on Saturday following a third consecutive defeat , Allardyce now insists he uses "the team in the right way" and claims he always ignores criticism of his side's playing style. "If I allow that to affect me, I might as well pack my bags and walk away," he said. Allardyce has led West Ham back into the Premier League and is one win away from keeping them there with the move to the Olympic Stadium fast approaching in 2016. And in the week David Moyes was sacked at Manchester United , he stated: "It all boils down to one thing in the end. "Whatever anyone says, results are, in the end, the only thing that matters. The bosses have just proven that by doing what they have done to David Moyes. "Is it different at West Ham? No. I can't understand why people can't understand we're a results-driven business based on what happens. "All the money you earn is based on results. It's a results-driven formula." Allardyce is the third-longest serving boss in the Premier League after Arsene Wenger and Alan Pardew, despite being back in the top flight for under two seasons. All his career, the former Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle manager has attracted flak for his football philosophy. Asked if he would address fans' concerns in the summer transfer market, he responded: "Style of play is just a label everyone uses against me, no matter what style I play. "I am never going to get rid of it because the style of play I have is not like that, just like the style I had at Bolton is not like that when they said it was. "When the tag is laid down, you just can't get rid of it, so you just ignore it and get on with it. "I use the team in the right way, to win as many matches as we can. We try to entertain, particularly at home by playing attacking football and winning. "There are many clubs where their fans are expressing their disapproval. That is the way of the game now. "If I allow that to affect me, I might as well pack my bags and walk away because you can't let that sort of thing affect what you are responsible for – the players, what the club is responsible for and what the club needs in order to move on and get better."

Allardyce admitted this season has been "an under-achievement up to now" after the "over-achievement" of last season. West Ham, seven points clear of the bottom three on 37 points, viait relegation-threatened West Brom on Saturday. Allardyce said: "The pressure will be pretty intense because we all know what's at stake."

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