Departing West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce has accused former Nottingham Forest forward Michail Antonio of making 'disgusting' comments over his team's style of play.
West Ham's 3-1 win over Albion last night was followed by an interview with Hammers star Antonio, who explained how difficult it was to face a side ‘with big men who play in the channels’.
Allardyce, who announced he will quit the relegated team after Sunday's final game of the season against Leeds, questioned those assessments and pointed to Albion’s comparatively diminutive front-line.
“Unlike Michail Antonio’s statement that I just heard before I came out here, saying we’ve got big men that play in the channel,” Allardyce told Sky Sports. “He’s just insulted me and my team. He’s a nice lad, but it was disgusting what he said.
“I think he should go back and watch the game to see how we really played. Our front two are 5’10 and 5’9, so I don’t know what big men he saw in the channels.
“That’s all you lot talk about, you never talk about anything else. Just like Michail Antonio just said, it’s Sam with the long ball, it’s the Sam way of playing, it’s a load of crap and it always has been a load of crap because I’ve never played the same way at any club I’ve been at.
“If you thought that was long ball today, then somebody is deluded. We played long ball against Liverpool because it was the right way to play and (we) should have got a result against them.
“They didn’t like it, but it shows everybody (that) if you play a simple game against Liverpool, then you can get at them, you can get behind them and you can get chances.
“They’ve gone and beat Burnley 3-0 tonight, but they were dead lucky to beat us the other night. Today, West Ham didn’t deserve to beat us 3-1 but that’s our fault and nobody else’s.”
Antonio earned a £7m move to West Ham in 2015 after a single successful season at Forest in which he scored 19 goals in 54 appearances as a winger, although he now plays a more central role in the Premier League.
