Sam keeps us sweating

Sam Allardyce has admitted that he's still to make a decision over whether to sign El Hadji Diouf.

Despite four out of five supporters voting in a recent KUMB.com poll against signing the serial spitter - and many more fans across the web insisting that they will refuse to step foot inside the Boleyn Ground should Diouf ever get to wear a claret and blue shirt - Allardyce is yet to rule out the possibility of signing the former Sengalese international, who has been training with West Ham at Chadwell Heath for the past few weeks.

"El Hadji Diouf has always polarised opinions and, at the moment, he's training with us with the purpose of assessing his fitness," Allardyce told the Evening Standard. "Obviously I'm taking everything into consideration and the most important thing is we are going pretty well at the moment and there shouldn't be any distractions.

"The sensible thing to do is to consider all the possible consequences and then make a decision when I'm ready. He's a good player and he did well for me at Bolton, but I'm aware of the issue with the fans here at West Ham.

"There's always been so-called 'bad boys' in football - Eric Cantona is just one that springs to mind - but it's not for me to criticise any West Ham supporter for having a stance on this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that."

* No to Diouf: http://www.kumb.com/diouf.php