Thursday, 18th December, 2014



Sam Allardyce has insisted that West Ham somehow need to negotiate the busy festive period to maintain their forward push this season.

A team that battled for survival in the Premier League last term, the Hammers have been the surprise package of this campaign.




Strengthened with some quality summer signings, Allardyce’s side are currently fourth in the Premier League table on 28 points, ahead of the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool.

 


They have been able to consistently maintain their upward thrust this season, but Allardyce feels West Ham’s campaign will be defined by their performances in the next fortnight or so.

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Before their FA Cup third round tie against Everton on 6th January, West Ham will play four league games and the manager feels their eventual fate this season will depend a lot on how they manage to get through these fixtures.

"We've got to keep the shape of our season as high as it is at the moment”, Allardyce said in a press conference.

"We've achieved great things in our first 16 games and are looking forward to the Christmas games, even if it is a strenuous period.

"There will be fatigue, there will be injuries so we will have to rotate the team. It's just play, recover, play, recover."

West Ham’s highest Premier League finish came in 1999, when they finished fifth.

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