Big Sam expecting a reaction

Sam Allardyce is banking on his players to showcase their resilience once more, as West Ham United bid to reverse their away-day fortunes in a Barclays Premier League clash at Fulham.

With last Wednesday's 5-1 defeat at Arsenal still fresh in the memory, Big Sam hopes a trip to happy-hunting ground Craven Cottage will prove the perfect tonic.

The Hammers' record of six Premier League wins at Fulham is bettered only by Arsenal and Allardyce reckons a seventh success could kick-start a renewed bid for top-flight safety.

"We've always had a good reaction when we've lost a game," he said. "I just hope that's the same on Wednesday. Hopefully the players get to the level we know they can, produce a result out of the game and we'll see whether we can move on from there."

That said, Allardyce made sure to remind his players of their responsibilities, insisting the job this season is far from done.

"We're not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination," added Big Sam. "By no means are we comfortable. Our recent results suggest we're anything but comfortable. We've not taken enough points out of the games we've played.

"We've played seven games and only taken five points. It's not enough, it's not good enough and it's the players' responsibility to get more points on the board starting Wednesday."

The Hammers could yet be boosted by the return of Andy Carroll, who had a considerable hand in the 3-0 win in September's reverse fixture, Carroll's debut outing in Claret and Blue. Allardyce, however, promised to be cautious when it comes to the Liverpool loanee's long-awaited return.

"Andy's fit, in terms of being clear of the injury. He's in training with the players but we'll assess him on whether we involve him in the squad at such an early stage, having played no competitive football and had only two days training with the squad."