West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has defended the signing of Stewart Downing ahead of their clash at Liverpool.
Big Sam wrote in the London Evening Standard: "Much of the criticism which has headed my way in recent times concerns the signing of Stewart, rather than another striker.
"I have to say I am sick of taking it. The truth, as I have repeated often, is that we couldn't find a striker for the price we paid for Stewart. We went for four strikers before the deadline but, for varying reasons, we couldn't get any of them.
"We did try, both before we signed him and afterwards, to sign another striker but it didn't work out. For a player of his quality, Stewart was available at a reasonable price, as he has since shown.
"The window eventually shut and then came the injury to Andy Carroll."
