Tony Cottee has declared that West Ham’s game against Spurs this weekend is the most important manager Sam Allardyce has faced in his time at the club.

The former striker – speaking exclusively to ClaretandHugh – believes that defeat to the club’s biggest rivals could leave him in “a very difficult position indeed.”

Cottee believes that the club is now safe from relegation claiming it would take an absolutely ridiculous series of events to stop that from being the case.

But he explained that after one of the worst weeks the manager could have experienced at the hands of the fans,  anything other than a top performance on Saturday, and decent result, will leave the boss “seriously on the edge.”

He said: “Let’s be realistic. It’s highly unlikely we are going to beat Manchester City in the last game of the season so this one against Spurs is of total importance for Sam.

“We have lost four games on the trot and seven out of nine. If he can get a good performance and result from the team this weekend despite all that’s gone on, the fans will go happy.

“If he doesn’t, then he’s going to find it very difficult indeed at the end of season meeting where his position and the season as a whole are likely to be on the agenda.

“I have no doubt that this is his most important game of  his time at Upton Park. He’s on a shocking run of results and now has a televised match where all eyes will be on him.

“The crowd protests have grown from a rumble to a very loud chorus and the only way out for Sam now is a top performance against the deadly rivals.”

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