West Ham United legend Sir Geoff Hurst has defended underfire manager Sam Allardyce.
Many fans remain convinced Allardyce is not the man to lead the club forward to their Olympic Stadium move in two years but Hurst believes the Hammers have the perfect manager in place as Allardyce heads into his fourth season in charge at Upton Park.
"I'm very much in the camp of wanting to keep Sam Allardyce," the England World Cup winner told Sky Sports.
"We need to improve the team, there's no doubt about that. He hasn't got a great side but the way I see it if he can keep us mid-table then that's a fantastic job.
"It's crazy that there's pressure on Sam Allardyce before the season has started but that's football.
"They haven't had a particularly good pre-season but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Down the years at West Ham, we have had good results after not doing well in pre-season and we've had poor years after making a good start so it doesn't mean a lot."
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