Sam Allardyce admits the ruthless nature of top flight combat means there will be no sentiment shown towards his Norwich City counterpart.

The West Ham chief's longevity in the game means he is acutely aware Chris Hughton is a man under pressure with the Canaries languishing in the bottom three and smarting from a 7-0 defeat at title-challenging Manchester City.

'I have been asked if it has crossed my mind that, if we beat Norwich, it could cost a fellow manager his job? My answer is no,' Allardyce told the London Evening Standard. 'The reality is that I don't want to be the man to relieve the pressure on Chris because it will increase on me.

'If we lose we will have fewer points than games played — and that is dangerous so a result, whether a draw or a win, is a necessity. From my experience, the 7-0 defeat will have a positive rather than negative effect on their approach. I think they will come out with all guns blazing and try to show their home fans they still have the desire and determination to play for the club. Norwich may have conceded 15 goals in their last four matches but three of those were away to Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.'

Allardyce's club arrive at Carrow Road with the third best defensive record in the Premier League this season, but the Hammers' have endured their own problems at the other end of the pitch in the absence of injured striker Andy Carroll.

'People point to the fact that we haven't got Andy or we haven't played with a front man recently but it's not just that as to why we're down on our goal count from last year,' he said. 'We're down on all players scoring a few more last season than they have done this season. The main contribution to us finishing tenth last season was that most players in our squad actually scored a goal.

'Very few players in the squad didn't get a goal, whether that was from set-plays or open play. It was very, very good from the point of view that we were in the Premier League for the first season. We've done the first bit right, that's not conceding a goal, and making life very difficult for the opposition, particularly Cardiff at home and then of course Tottenham away. We've had many performances as good as the one against Tottenham this year and we've had better, like against Newcastle, but we haven't won. We haven't got the rewards we deserved, we know that and we've got to try and improve.'