West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce admits his team has failed to close out games this season.

Allardyce wrote in the London Evening Standard: "It began on the opening day of the campaign against Tottenham and has been repeated in the last two months against Manchester United, Leicester and, last weekend, at home to Stoke.

"If we had held on for a minute or two longer - in some cases just a few seconds - we would be on 50 points or more and with eighth place in the Premier League nailed on.

"It just demonstrates how fine the margins are. Had we managed to see those games out we would have been praised for what we had achieved this season."