West Ham United

Sam Allardyce denies crisis meeting with West Ham United board

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 03 January 2014

Sam Allardyce insists that talks he held with members of the West Ham board were centred on potential transfers and not his future as manager.

West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has insisted that his job is not under threat following a meeting with the club's board during which his future as manager was apparently not a topic of discussion.

A report on Friday claimed that the 59-year-old survived crisis talks with vice-chairman Karren Brady and co-owner David Sullivan, but faces the sack if the Hammers, 19th in the table, lose their next Premier League match at Cardiff City.

Allardyce has not denied that the meeting took place, but has revealed that it was centred around moving the Hammers forward under his guidance in the form of incoming transfers in the January window.

"I talk to the board members all the time, but what I say with them has nothing to do with you," he said when asked if he had spoken to the owners following the Fulham loss.

"What happens is internal with those people as far as I'm concerned, not what happens publicly. If it was a crisis position we are in they would come and sack me, the position we are in is that we are talking about bringing new players in to the football club and overcome the injuries we have got.

"In terms of support from David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady, at the moment when they are talking to me it is about positive action to try and help get ourselves get out of the situation we are in, which I'm very grateful for."

Allardyce only has 14 senior players available for West Ham's FA Cup third-round trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday and has admitted that he could be forced into playing "seven or eight" youngsters.