West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is wary of asking too much from former Manchester United midfielder Ravel Morrison.

Allardyce won't be throwing new boy Morrison into battle without proper preparation.

"He's a very talented player but what we have to assess is we have a massive few games ahead of us.

"He's a little bit of an unknown quantity in the first team because he hasn't established himself as a first-team player yet anywhere.

"He hasn't even been on loan anywhere like normal players do from Manchester United to gain experience.

"So going into the throes of a big promotion push that we're on at the moment is a difficult decision for me.

"We know he's got the talent, it's just a timing issue on whether I think that talent will play a big part in us going for promotion this year."