West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is delighted to have guided the club to the Capital One Cup semifinals.

Big Sam wrote in the London Evening Standard: "It was great to win at Tottenham for the second time this season and I was especially pleased for our goal scorers, Matt Jarvis and Modibo Maiga, who came on in the second half and headed the winner.

"Our performance at White Hart Lane should not be underestimated. We had only 16 fit senior players and I hope we get the same amount of praise as the criticism I received in some quarters for allegedly undermining the competition by making too many changes.

"An indication that I take the League Cup deadly seriously is that this will be my fourth semi-final during my managerial career; twice with Bolton, losing to Tranmere and beating Aston Villa, and once while managing Blackburn, losing to Villa.

"Obviously, the semi-final draw against Manchester City is a tough one but it's a challenge we're relishing."