West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has told record signing Matt Jarvis to up his game – but admits the 27-year-old has needed time to settle at his new club.

Jarvis has yet to live up to expectations at Upton Park following his �10.7million switch from Wolves in the summer.

Allardyce insists he is content with the winger’s contribution so far but has warned him that he will expect more consistent performances in future.

“Overall we’re pleased with what he’s done but we’d like him to do better and I’m sure he would like to be more consistent,” he said.

“His contribution has been good but he knows himself that he can do better.”

Although keen to see improvement from Jarvis, Allardyce was quick to point out that settling into life in London and reoccurring injury problems have hampered his progress.

He said: “I think a couple of niggly injuries have been a bit of a problem for him but overall it’s that settling in to a new football club takes a little bit of time.”

While Jarvis’ slow start at West Ham has raised eyebrows in some quarters, Allardyce insists English players should be allowed the same period of adaption as their foreign counterparts.

“I talk about foreign players coming in and the difficulty they have but it’s the same for somebody in this country,” he said.

“He had been at Wolves for an awful long time and then has to readjust to life in London. That can take a little bit of time.

“It’s about continuing to give him the service [so he can] show that he will eventually start improving.”