West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has hailed his side's achievements in the first half of the Premier League season by describing reaching fourth place as "a great Christmas present".
Speaking in the wake of his side's 2-0 win against Leicester City, the Hammers boss said that claiming 31 points at this stage of the campaign is a significant feat.
"Being fourth in the Premier League is a great Christmas present for everybody at West Ham. Having 31 points before Christmas is a pretty major achievement for us," BBC Sport quotes him as saying.
"There is no doubt we deserved to win with the quality finishes from Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing. Stewart is one of the best attacking players in the Premier League with the way he is playing, and he is getting goals on the back of that. It is a very big win for us before we have Chelsea next.
"None of Nigel Pearson's players let him down. They gave everything and when we went 2-0 up they caused us some problems. He is a very good manager and he has proved that. I hope the club are patient with him and give him some funds to spend in January."
Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing were on target for West Ham during the win at Upton Park.
Mark Langshaw
