West Ham's defenders were nothing short of outstanding against Chelsea. Mourinho's men may have had countless shots on goal, but more often than not there was a Hammers' defender there to block the effort. James Tomkins and James Collins were particularly heroic, marshalling the back four with exceptional leadership and keeping Chelsea's attackers at arm's length. Their performances will be a huge positive for Allardyce. What is more, the work rate of the whole West Ham team was exemplary. They fought for every ball, tracked back countless times and played with the sort of tenacity we have rarely seen from them this season. It demonstrates that Allardyce most definitely has control of the dressing room. When teams fall into a relegation dog fight it is often the case that the manager loses the support of his players, the West Ham boss has clearly not. With some calling for his head, Allardyce can state that his deserves to keep his post because the players want him there. You do not put in a performance like West Ham did if you do not believe in the manager. The fight West Ham showed will stand them in good steed for the rest of the season and may just be the deciding factor in keeping them up. Allardyce is the master of avoiding relegation from the Premier League and, if the players continue to believe in him, they should beat the drop.
Simon is an NCTJ qualified sports journalist. He has conducted interviews with Tony Adams and Peter Shilton, while also having work published in The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. Follow him on Twitter via @sr_collings.
