Sam silences critics with variety act

SAM ALLARDYCE believes West Ham have delivered the perfect response to accusations they are a long ball side.

Hammers boss Allardyce has had to fend off criticism ever since he took charge at the start of last season.

And there were even grumblings of discontent after his side lost 3-0 at Swansea in their second game of the season – despite opening with a home win over Aston Villa.

But the crushing 3-0 win over Fulham last time out earned Allardyce’s players plenty of praise for the variety in their passing game.

And the 57-year-old believes his side is showing they are capable of adapting their game to clinch crucial Premier League points.

Allardyce said: “The best way for a team to play is to have variation and we have shown that this season.

Luckily

“We go short, we go long, we go forward, we go back, we go diagonal and we go in behind.

“It makes us very hard to play against and luckily we have the players like Ricardo Vaz Te and Mark Noble who can adapt.”

And he is convinced the best is yet to come from his side.

He added: “I really like the variation of the squad. We have a lot of talent – young, old, homegrown and foreign – and it all adds to the mix to form a very strong squad, which you need in this league.”