West Ham United midfielder Matty Taylor has heaped praise on manager Sam Allardyce for rescuing the Hammers from a seemingly perilous position at the turn of the year.

West Ham were second from bottom after a 2-1 defeat at Fulham on New Year's Day and three points from safety.

However, a Jose Mourinho resented display at Stamford Bridge, in which they earned a point, spawned a run of four consecutive wins in February that saw Allardyce's men pull away from danger.

Talking to the Daily Mail whilst coaching his Luton under-15 academy side, Taylor said: “You can’t go to Chelsea and outplay them at their game, that’s suicide.

“We believed we could frustrate them by playing narrow. The manager gave us a very good game plan. The reaction in the dressing room afterwards was fantastic, it gave us the kick to pick up four consecutive wins”.

Taylor, 32, is a revitalised figure within West Ham’s midfield and has been selected by Sam Allardyce to partner Mark Noble for 10 of the past 11 Premier League matches, which have yielded a more than credible 19 points.

West Ham currently sit in 11th, with five games to play and a trip to Arsenal tomorrow night.