Sam Allardyce has hinted that Enner Valencia could be ready for some action against Spurs declaring: “He’s not played any games but that is a situation that’s developing quite nicely now.”

The manager also confirmed that apart from Andy Carroll and Matt Jarvis the squad was fit.

He said:  “ Hopefully we don’t get any injuries in the next couple of days because obviously it’s a big plus to have as many players available on Saturday as we possibly can.”

He believes a top half finish would be the sort of season for which he is looking.

He said: “I’d say tenth or better. We have to aim for at least that position, and if we score a few more goals than last season, that’s feasible for us.

He told www.whufc.com:  Since we’ve come back from New Zealand the squad has got fitter, the squad has got better.

“Pre-season is fine, but at the end of the day everybody always keeps a little bit back in pre-season games for what’s going to happen on Saturday.

“That game will come around, it’ll be hot no doubt, it’ll be frantic, particularly in the first 35 to 40 minutes, and we need to keep a calm, cool head to be tactically and technically aware of who we’re playing against.

Individuals will then have to produce something for us on the day to help us win the game. That’s what we’re looking for.”