Sam Allardyce: West Ham owners were 'ungrateful'

Sam Allardyce has launched a scathing attack on West Ham’s owners, branding them "ungrateful".

The former Hammers boss does not believe the club will qualify for Europe this season and admits his lack of faith in the squad may have ended his chances of getting a new contract.

Allardyce, who left in the summer after four years in charge at Upton Park, believes he did everything that co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold had demanded.

He said: “The 'West Ham Way' is obviously not winning every week, like I tried to do.

"I did everything they asked for and they wanted more, and I found that extremely ungrateful in terms of what I'd done for them.

If David Sullivan and David Gold have told Slaven Bilic that they expect to get into Europe this year then I think it's way beyond the capabilities of the squad at this moment in time.

"They thought we could get into and thought they might be able to get to a cup final, and that wasn't in the format of the job description when I started.

"I don't take kindly to people who don't appreciate what you do for them.”

The 60-year-old, who is taking a break from management, told beIN Sports: "We both decided to part company in quite an amicable way in the end, but I certainly wasn't going to stay, in my mind, for a long, long time.

"If David Sullivan and David Gold have told Slaven Bilic that they expect to get into Europe this year then I think it's way beyond the capabilities of the squad at this moment in time.

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"I told them that. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why they didn't renew my contract in the end?

"Ultimately, my biggest problem was finishing 10th in the first year [back in the Premier League] - I would have been much better off finishing fourth from bottom."

Allardyce was replaced by former Hammers player Slaven Bilic, who began his Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win at Arsenal last Sunday.

Bilic’s side are at home to Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City on Saturday.