Sky TV pundit Sam Allardyce says a clean sheet is the priority for West Ham United against Huddersfield Town tonight.
The former Hammers boss, who says he has no intention of returning to management at the moment – not even at his old club Crystal Palace – reckons London Stadium boss Slaven Bilic will have spelled out the importance of not conceding against David Wagner’s raiders.
“There has been constant investment (at West Ham) since I got back to the Premier League, which David (Gold) always tries to give, but then the selection of the players is then your key process (as manager) and whether you get that right or not is the big difference in what sort of season you have,” said Allardyce.
“If you replace one player with another they have to be better, but it’s only when you get eight to 10 games into the season you can work out whether the players you have brought in are better than the ones they have replaced.
“Attacking wise tonight (with Andy Carroll back starting), West Ham look better, but defensively they have the worst record in the league.
“I am sure Slaven, being a centre-back, will have made his players aware of how important a clean sheet is.
“A clean sheet means one goal will secure three points, and that’s really what they need.”
Bilic made five changes for the Town match and changed formation, while Wagner named an unchanged team for the third successive game.
Wagner said: “This is another challenge, a difficult one, but I think we are prepared.
“We want to find a set-up where we are competitive. I feel this should be the starting line-up that does the first steps, and nobody knows what will happen in the game.”
