West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is looking forward to clashing with new Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat.

Allardyce wrote in the London Evening Standard: "The important thing for me and the players is to start winning games again, beginning tomorrow against Sunderland, who have Dick Advocaat in charge for the first time.

"I've been in similar positions in my career and it's not easy. The first thing I would do going into a club at this time is watch the players train, see what abilities they possess. At home later, watch recordings of recent matches - that will tell you a lot just about where the problems lie.

"I don't think it's too difficult to work out that Sunderland haven't been scoring enough goals, even though their draw ratio - 14 - is the highest in the Premier League, the inference being that if Gus Poyet had turned six of those into wins, there wouldn't have been a problem."