Sam Allardyce confirmed as West Ham manager

Allardyce confirmed

Sam Allardyce has been confirmed as the new manager of West Ham and the former Blackburn boss is confident he can take the club back to the Premier League.

Allardyce was today appointed as successor to the sacked former incumbent Avram Grant and spoke of his pride at being appointed.

“It is an honour to be the new manager of West Ham United. It is a fantastic club with a great tradition and loyal supporters who deserve to be in the Premier League. I can’t wait to begin pre-season training as I am determined to get this club back where it belongs,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League. More than that, I wouldn’t have contemplated the job if I didn’t think there was the opportunity to build something substantial at West Ham.”

Allardyce acknowledged the work of Tony Carr, praising the academy and promised to not stray too far from ‘the West ham way’.

“There is a core of very talented young players at the club who’ve come up through the youth system, have West Ham in their blood and who I know I can build a successful team around,” he said.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to, managing a club that wins more games than it loses and competing at the top of the table. We need to create a winning mentality and give the fans a team they can be proud to watch.

I know there will be West Ham fans asking whether I’m going to abandon the style of play that’s been the club’s heritage over the years. All I’ll say is it will be a tale of home and away.

“At Upton Park we’ll attempt to play the kind of passing game the fans want. We will aim to continue in the same way on our travels but we’ll also be tough, hard to beat and utterly resilient.”