Allardyce plans showdown talks with unhappy West Ham star

By Nick Wright Tuesday, January 22, 2013
1:46 PM

Manager Sam Allardyce says he will hold talks with Alou Diarra over his West Ham future after the midfielder revealed he is unhappy with life at the Hammers and wants to move on.

In an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe today, the experienced 31-year-old vented his frustrations with a lack of playing time at West Ham and claimed he has a poor relationship with boss Allardyce.

Former Liverpool flop Diarra joined West Ham from Marseille in the summer but has been hindered by injuries made just five appearances all season.

“He has let his frustrations out in his home country, which often happens,” said Allardyce.

“Someone has got hold of him and asked to do an article. He has done the article and has aired some of the frustrations of not playing on a regular basis.

“When he knocks on the door and comes to see me, we’ll sort him out as quickly as we can. I haven’t got a problem with it.”

He continued: “He is obviously clear, without telling me, that he is not happy with he situation, which is understandable.

“You get this all the time as a manager when you bring a player of his experience and calibre over from France.

“It hasn’t quite worked out and he feels a little disgruntled in terms of playing more, this or that.

“It is a fact of life, whereas I look at the situation and play what I consider the best team and because Alou’s long-stranding injury he has found it to adjust to what is needed in the Premier League.

“If he is unhappy, he just has to tell me what he wants to do and we’ll see how we go from there.”

Quizzed on Diarra’s claims that he had “wasted four months” at West Ham, Allardyce quipped: “Wasted four months of what? My time or his? He has been injured for three months.”