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Sam Allardyce admitted after today's last day defeat at West Ham that he could no longer be "confident" about his future as Everton boss and that "there's no smoke without fire".

In a short and spiky press conference following Everton's 3-1 defeat at his former club Allardyce said: "I have a contract for next year."

Asked if he was confident of seeing it out he said: "Confident? I can't quite say after all the rumours I'm reading in the paper because generally there's something and there's no smoke without fire but I'll wait and see when we meet up next week, or this week actually."

Asked if he knew when any proposed meeting with Everton's hierarchy was scheduled for he snapped: "I wouldn't be telling you if I did."

Allardyce also offered the curious viewpoint that his side had been unlucky not to take a point from a match West Ham largely bossed.

When it was suggested that West Ham appeared to 'want it more' he said: "Did they want it more? Who had the better chances? I thought we did.

"I thought Adrian saved them.

"I think because Adrian was so good today with the clearcut chances that we had that he saved, we could have easily acquired a draw.

"But I think the quality of West Ham's goals, especially the two in the second half, was ultimately the difference - and Adrian by the saves that he made.

"We changed our system at half-time and got control of the game better, got more opportunities to attack West Ham but didn't take advantage of it and then they punished us with two very very good goals."

(Image: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Oumar Niasse grabbed Everton's consolation and Allardyce added: "When we do a little rotation of the system and the subs you see the impact they have.

"We made one at half-time and then when Theo came on he and Oumar linked up better than he and Cenk had and I think that got us opportunities.

"Oumar in the box is very sharp and that's what he got his goal from and Theo had a goal disallowed which was marginally offside and very unlucky.

"Then Adrian saved from him and Adrian saved again off Davy Klaassen which might have made it a very tight and close game but unfortunately it didn't and West Ham in the end were very pleased that they had won."