West Ham United's Matthew Taylor blasts 'long-ball' jibes

West Ham United's Matthew Taylor has attempted to silence the club's critics by insisting that they are not a 'long-ball' team.

The East London outfit have been regarded on a number of occasions as a team that prefer to hoof the ball up top, but Taylor has claimed that the Hammers can pass as well as any other side in the Premier League.

"It's a myth that West Ham are a long-ball side," Taylor told talkSPORT. "You just have to look at the calibre of footballers at the club. You can't tell me that Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan or Mohamed Diame want to keep kicking the ball up to Andy Carroll. They want to play, and we do that well.

"Sam [Allardyce] will tell you it's a stigma that's followed him throughout his career. It probably started when he was successful at Bolton. We don't have an issue with it though.

"If everyone thinks that's how we're going to play that's fine. We can pass it as well as any side in the Premier League, so it's only a positive thing for us."

West Ham are currently 14th in the league table, six points away from relegation.