FA Cup: Sam Allardyce wants more resilience from West Ham
Tuesday 13 January 2015 14:42, UK
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has demanded improvement from his side at both ends of the pitch as they prepare to face Everton in Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay at Upton Park.
The teams drew 1-1 at Goodison Park last week and Allardyce is looking to guide his team to a first win in six matches.
The Hammers have been in front in their last three games against West Brom, Everton and Swansea but were pegged back to 1-1 on each occasion.
"It's a concern, we are not as free scoring as we were," said Allardyce. "The results have dipped a bit but the performances haven't.
"One thing that has to happen is we get to more resilient defensively. We're becoming a much more creative side but our defensive weaknesses have been exploited too much.
"In order to win football games you need to make sure you're strong enough in both departments.
"We've only had four clean sheets so far and that's not good enough to keep you in the top six."
West Ham have slipped back to seventh in the Premier League after their winless run, but Everton are on an even worse run having lost four and drawn two of their last six matches.
