Allardyce rues missed opportunity

Sam Allardyce has been left frustrated by West Ham's failure to build on a hugely promising start to the season, with the club's hopes of a highest Premier League finish for over a decade slipping from their grasp.

When West Ham beat Leicester City 2-0 on December 20 last year, they sat fourth in the table and looked well on course to better the seventh place they achieved in 2001-02.

However, Allardyce has overseen just two league wins since then - against relegation-threatened Hull City and Sunderland - to leave his side in the bottom half ahead of Saturday's visit of Burnley.

"The true fact of the matter is that we should have nailed our best finish for many years a long time ago," manager Allardyce said. 

"We don't want to be disappointed at the end of the season.

"We're in a run that we know we should have done a lot better from, but we want to enjoy the next four games by performing well and winning."

Despite the season having promised so much at one stage, West Ham need to win three of their remaining matches just to equal the 51 points they gained last term.

Allardyce's future has been the subject of much speculation, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.