Rival boss speaks on promotion push

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce had admitted that Southampton are near enough on the verge of the Championship title, while his team and Reading fight out the second spot.

It is turning out to be a three-horse race as we approach the final hurdle of the Championship season. Southampton find themselves top of the league with 78 points, nine points clear of West Ham in third. Reading occupy the second promotion spot, four points ahead of the Hammers.

Allardyce said: 'I think that's gone now. I can't see Southampton losing three or four on the trot for us to make up those points. We've slipped up, they haven't and credit to them because they have been there all season. If we deliver eight clean sheets in our last eight games, I think we'll go up automatically.'

'It's costing us dear, but we are still in with a shout if we turn the draws into victories. If I get a performance like the one at Burnley, I'm sure we can win at Peterborough. Then we play Reading on Saturday, and that's our chance to get back into second spot. But if we really want to get in among the automatic promotion side of it, we have to beat Peterborough.'

As Big Sam mentioned, his team face Peterborough tonight, which is their game in hand on the top two. The Posh were the team that ended Reading's fantastic winning run two weeks go when they beat the Royals 3-1. Just a draw in this game and a victory at the weekend would see West Ham jump above Reading into second spot in the Championship.

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