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Sam Allardyce denies cancelling Cheltenham Festival trip for players

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce denies cancelling his players' trip to the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has denied rumours that he cancelled a trip for his players to the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old has claimed that a change in schedule may have resulted in some of his players mistakenly planning to go to the races.

The Hammers usually have Wednesdays off, but due to not having a game last weekend, Allardyce opted to bring his players in for training in midweek.

"[The players] just thought they were having a day off on Wednesday that they didn't get," Allardyce said in a press conference. "They've had the weekend off, they generally get Wednesdays off in a normal week, but this wasn't a normal week for me.

"They never got told so they probably thought, or planned, a few of the players, to go to Cheltenham. When they found out we were in on Wednesday, they found they couldn't [go]."

The Hammers will take on Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham and Southampton at Boleyn Ground on February 22, 2014
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