West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has praised defender Aaron Cresswell for his "excellent" contribution to the team this season.

The summer signing from Ipswich Town scored his first goal for the club on Saturday during their 1-0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League.

While admitting that he had doubts over whether the 24-year-old would adapt to the top flight, Allardyce believes that Cresswell has taken it in his stride.

"He's done fantastically well and he's been available for every league game so far. Hopefully he'll continue this run. His contribution has been excellent and he's capped it off with a goal on Saturday," he told the club's official website.

"When a player takes a step up a level you can never quite know how he'll cope. Sometimes it takes a while but the great start we've had has helped. We're a third of the way through the season and that has helped as well. Overall he has done fantastically."

West Ham are back in action tomorrow night when they travel to West Bromwich Albion in the league.