Sam Allardyce: 'Robin van Persie could decide title'

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes that Robin van Persie could be the decisive factor in who wins the Premier League title this season.

The Dutchman scored the only goal of the game after just 33 seconds as Manchester United beat the Hammers 1-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Allardyce believes that his side kept the 29-year-old quiet for the majority of their match, but does feel that Van Persie could win United the league.

"Manchester United have lots of players who will have good spells and can come up trumps when they need them to," said Allardyce.

"Robin van Persie is a quality player and we have largely kept him quiet.

"But he will score 20 goals for Manchester United, maybe 30. In the end that is normally the difference."

Van Persie joined United from Arsenal in the summer for £24m.