• Premier League

Allardyce: Chelsea slump not Abramovich's fault

ESPN staff
December 3, 2012
Chelsea struggled with West Ham's power © PA Photos
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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has warned Rafael Benitez he must deliver for Chelsea and expect owner Roman Abramovich to have total control at Stamford Bridge if he wants to succeed.

Allardyce leapt to the defence of Abramovich after he was criticised by fans during Chelsea's 3-1 loss at Upton Park on Saturday.

The Hammers boss added to the pressure facing Benitez, who is yet to win a match since taking charge of Chelsea, insisting the Spaniard will face a similar fate to Roberto Di Matteo if he does not get the Blues' season back on track.

"Roman is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and he's entitled to do whatever he wants because of the amount of money he puts behind the team," Allardyce said.

"He's been a great advocate for why the Premier League has become such a great brand around the world of football, by the money he's put in. What he wants, you have to deal with if you're the manager. And you have to deliver."

West Ham compounded Benitez's woes with late strikes from Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga keeping the Hammers in eighth spot. Allardyce admitted the absence of John Terry allowed the Hammers to expose Chelsea's defence.

"I think they're missing John Terry," he said. "I think they're missing leadership. Look at the amount of money they've spent on the players and you can see the quality they've got.

"But, in the second half, they didn't quite show as much resilience as they needed to, to overcome what we were doing. They couldn't change the way they played to cope with us. We changed the way we played to cope with them and expose them. They couldn't do that against us in the second half."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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