West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is happy to be staying in Europe for preseason.

Allardyce, whose squad started their pre-season build-up in Cork, Ireland, believes spending less time on a plane and more on the pitch can only help his men hit the ground running when they tackle top-flight newcomers Cardiff at Upton Park on August 17.

"We have gone to Germany again because the facilities, the hospitality and the standard of games is just what we are looking for in preparing us for the new season," he said.

"For me, the good thing is not travelling far and wide like a lot of teams do, going to the Far East and Asia. It is alright financially for the club, but it is not so clever for the players.

"It is better preparation for the season, there is no doubt about that. I have travelled to Thailand and Japan when I was at Bolton, and while we still got off to a good start to the season, the amount of travelling we had to incur was for us done at the right time, at the very start of pre-season, but we did pick up a few injuries on that, which was a bit of a problem.

"Certainly if you are doing it, you are doing it for the money."