Allardyce praise for “commanding” Burke

Sam Allardyce explained after today’s game that QPR’s desire and anxiety was a key issue in the clash.

He told West Ham TV “I think we had to match the fact that when a team is at the bottom of the league and the games remaining are in single figures, the desire and anxiety of the opposition is so much greater than it is at the start of the season,” the manager told West Ham TV.

He added: “When there are only three, four or five games left and a team is in the bottom three and three or four points adrift, the opposition get more and more desperate.“Of course we had many positions to have scored but failed to do so. The best in the first half came before the penalty when Enner Valencia should have rolled the ball to an unmarked Kevin Nolan in the middle of the goal.

 “I understand his frustration because he wanted to score and we want him to score more, but not when there is someone else in a better position, because you must give them the ball.

“Of the missed CharlAustin spot kick he said: “It was obviously a penalty, but there was a clear foul just before on Cheikhou Kouyate, who was just cleaned out by Karl Henry as he headed the ball, which meant the ball went to a QPR player instead of one of ours. I don’t think you could blame the referee because Ginge’s hand was in the air above his head.“Then, though, we had the master of penalty saves there for us again – that’s his third one on the trot and it was the major reason we got a point. It was not fortunate, but fantastic goalkeeping because he has proved it in the past.

“There was also no doubt about the foul on Adrian for the goal they have had disallowed, so we got the defensive side right.”