Thursday 2 April 2015 17:58, UK
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says Saturday's opponents Leicester remain capable of retaining their Premier League status.
Allardyce takes his team to the King Power Stadium to face the league's bottom club who are without a win in their last seven matches and seven points adrift of safety.
But Allardyce says Nigel Pearson’s men should use Sunderland’s improbable escape from relegation last season as motivation in their own quest to beat the drop.
“At this stage of the season generally, at that level at the lower end of the league, if they can win four out of six, or three out of five they can give themselves a lifeline,” Allardyce said.
“Last year it was Sunderland, so that can happen with the performances that Leicester have shown. Leicester will not give up and they've still got great hope that they can get out of trouble.
“What we’ve got to do is make sure that is not against us. We’ve got to make sure we are on top of our game and deliver the performance we need to because they are fighting for their lives down there.
'Performances'
“Overall, Nigel must be pulling his hair out and saying: ‘Why haven’t our performances given us more results?’
“I suppose that shows the cruelty of the Premier League where some teams, who don’t take advantage of things, by not scoring chances, ultimately pay the price.”
Defender Winston Reid looks set to return for West Ham after missing their last two matches with a hamstring injury but Allardyce confirmed Enner Valencia is unlikely to be fit for the weekend.
“We've got Winston Reid back in full training,” he said. “But I don't think Enner Valencia is going to make it, although he is back in some sort of training.
“Winston will be available as he's had the last seven days back in full training."
Allardyce, whose long-term future at West Ham continues to be debated, said he is not unduly concerned about the latest wave of speculation, insisting his only focus is finishing the season well.
"It's very tight between eighth and tenth now for us. We have a reasonable run-in although no game is ever easy at this level. For us it's about achieving as many points as possible in the run-in. Hopefully we can kick off on a good run having beaten Sunderland.
