Sam Allardyce: On tour with West Ham recently

Sam Allardyce may well have been persuaded to do a U-turn over his future plans for midfielder Ravel Morrison.

The West Ham manager recently said that Morrison was likely to be a bit-part performer for the club this season only for co-chairman David Sullivan to publicly disagree with him a few days later.

Sullivan said last week: "Sam has said Ravel is not part of his plans but we – as a board – see him as part of our plans.

"He (Allardyce) said in a press conference, if I read it correctly, he's not part of his plans for this season but we (the board) don't agree with that.

“We would like to sit down and give him a longer contract. We do see him as part of the long-term future of the club but we have to agree it with the manager because there's no point signing a player he's not going to play."

After a strong start to his Hammers career, Morrison’s form tailed off following a groin injury and he ended last season on loan at QPR.

But speaking on Wednesday, Allardyce explained that the former Manchester United player still has a future in east London, saying: "We thought we'd brought Ravel to the forefront of his abilities this time last season.

"He had a fantastic pre-season and started the season very well. That drifted away a bit and he ended up at QPR, helping them get promoted.

"If he gets back to knuckling down, and getting used to the discipline side of the game, then his talents are outstanding."