Going will get much tougher, warns Big Sam
SAM ALLARDYCE has warned his West Ham side that the hard work starts NOW.
The Hammers have emerged as one of the Premier League’s surprise packages after shooting up to fourth spot.
Saturday’s victory over champions Manchester City confirmed their recent progress.
And with new signings Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Alex Song and Morgan Amalfitano firing on all cylinders, confidence is soaring at Upton Park. But Hammers boss Allardyce is refusing to get carried away and insisted: “The hard thing is sustaining a run like we’ve been on.
“Generally, the clubs who spend the most are the ones who are better equipped to keep things going.
“We have to find out now if we can cope with the pressure that our good run brings.
“We’ve made an impact, but now the players will have more scrutiny from the opposition, particularly the front two, Sakho and Valencia.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground and we have to keep asking ourselves, ‘ Can we get better?’”
Tired
Allardyce knows there will almost certainly be tougher times ahead for his high flyers.
And the experienced boss believes the mid-winter period will provide a stern test for his new signings.
He added: “We’re only nine games into the season. The difficult time ahead is December, when the games come thick and fast.
“The question then is will the new players begin to feel tired?
“They have never experienced this level of physicality and they could find it difficult.
“The players won’t feel tired when they are winning, but we still have to look at them carefully.
“Enner Valencia, for example, has had a huge playing schedule this year.”