Former West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has thanked the club's fans for a warm reception on his final visit to the Boleyn Ground as Sunderland lost 1-0 to the Hammers on Saturday.

Sunderland boss Allardyce, 61, was returning to the Boleyn Ground for the first time since being sacked by West Ham last summer, having been in charge of the club for four years.

The coach arrived in 2011 following their relegation to the Championship and steered them back to the Premier League during his first season in charge, though West Ham co-chairman David Gold recently said the club's style "wasn't pretty" under Allardyce.

Allardyce exclusively told Standard Sport before Saturday's game that West Ham were "broken" before he arrived, and there were predictions that the former Bolton and Newcastle boss would receive a hostile reception from Hammers fans.

However, Allardyce received light applause from the Boleyn Ground crowd before kick-off, and he took time to sign autographs for fans appreciative of his time at the club.

Allardyce took to Twitter on Sunday morning with the message: "Want to thank all the West Ham fans who gave me a good reception yesterday! Thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club & wish them all the best."

Slaven Bilic's Hammers won courtesy of a Michail Antonio goal in the first half, though Allardyce's relegation strugglers wasted a number of chances to equalise in the second half.

The defeat will be Allardyce's first and final visit back to the Boleyn Ground, with the Hammers set to play at the Olympic Stadium from next season.