West Ham: Boss Sam Allardyce targets top-10 league finish

Allardyce has been manager of West Ham since June 2011

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is aiming for a top-10 Premier League finish this season.

The Hammers, who start their 2014-15 campaign at home against Tottenham on Saturday, finished 13th last season.

And Allardyce, who has brought in a number of new players this summer, including striker Enner Valencia, feels the Hammers can improve on that.

"We're aiming for 10th or better and we want to score more than last season. That's achievable for us," he said.

The Hammers started last season with a 2-0 win against Cardiff, but then did not win again for five matches.

Allardyce is hoping a win against London rivals Spurs on Saturday would be an effective springboard for the season ahead. (West Ham won 2-0 at Upton Park in May) last season.

"The season would lift off with a win first up," he added. "Every game is a big one from first to last and ironically we're playing one of our big rivals first.

"If the result is as good as last time we played them then I'll be very happy.

"Saturday will come around, it'll be frantic and we need to keep a calm and cool head and be tactically and technically on it."

The capture of Ecuador international Valencia is one of six new signings at Upton Park this summer.

They have also brought in defender Aaron Cresswell from Ipswich, midfielders Cheikhou Kouyate and Diego Poyet from Anderlecht and Charlton respectively and forward Mauro Zarate from Velez Sarsfield.

Full-back Carl Jenkinson has also been signed on a season-long loan from Arsenal.

"All our signings, the average age comes out at 23, that is good for now and good for the future. That means they should be here a long time at West Ham and not just a short-term stopover like you have to do in your first season or two in the Premier League just to get you through," said Allardyce.

"We have moved on to not only improve the squad for now but also for a number of years to come hopefully and they will only get better when they play with us."

The club's co-owner David Sullivan recently told their official website that they had put in bids for four strikers, one of whom is Connor Wickham, although Sunderland subsequently rejected the offer.

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