West Ham hires Allardyce as new manager

Posted Wednesday, June 01, 2011 by

Sam Allardyce joined West Ham as manager on Wednesday, charged with leading the east London club back into the Premier League.

The former Bolton and Newcastle manager said he could lead the newly relegated side back to the topflight but warned fans that his team will not always play the attractive style of football associated with the Hammers.

World Soccer Gallery “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,” Allardyce said. “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.”

Allardyce, who has been out of work since he was fired by Blackburn in December, replaced Avram Grant. West Ham fired the former Chelsea and Portsmouth coach after its last-place finish in the Premier League was confirmed with a game remaining.

“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League,” Allardyce said. “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.”