Sam Allardyce delighted with Jack Collison return

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has declared that last weekend's win at Stoke City was made more special by the impact of Jack Collison.

The Welsh international continued his comeback from a long-term knee injury by coming off the bench to score the winner in a 1-0 success at the Britannia Stadium.

Allardyce believes that Collison deserves credit for constantly working to manage the knee problem, which often stops him training with the first-team squad.

He told the Daily Mail: "I was delighted to see Jack grab the winner after the problems he has overcome with his knee injury.

"The professional and highly-qualified medical staff make sure he does the right prevention so it is kept it in a stable condition.

"That's a big dedication from him as well as he has to be relatively bored most of the time in the week when everybody is training. He has to continue to do that and it's a credit to him that he's able to."

The Hammers are nine points clear of the relegation zone in 12th place following their first away victory of 2013.