West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has lavished praise on the work done by Sam Allardyce during his time in charge of the club.
Allardyce parted company with the London outfit moments after they were beaten by Newcastle United on the final day of the Premier League season, despite a generally successful campaign that was never disrupted by the threat of relegation.
Gold acknowledged that Allardyce had done everything asked of him during his four-year spell in charge, getting the club promoted back to the top flight and establishing them as a Premier League team once again.
"Sam did an amazing job in the four seasons he was with us. He did everything we asked - he got us promoted," Gold is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.
"It's true we expected to get promoted without having to go through the playoffs but we went to Wembley and had a fantastic time there.
"We then asked him to keep us up and he did that for three seasons. I wish Sam well. He's a fantastic manager."
Gold also claimed that West Ham would be able to attract a big name as Allardyce's successor due to their impending switch to the Olympic Stadium.
Barney Corkhill
