Sam Allardyce claimed Manchester United resorted to long balls in order to get back into the game against West Ham following their 1-1 draw at Upton Park yesterday.

For all their talent on the pitch, Louis van Gaal’s side struggled to create chances but the introduction of Marouane Fellaini late on led to Daley Blind’s stoppage-time equaliser, which cancelled out Cheikou Koyate’s 49th-minute volleyed finish.

Fellaini’s height and presence allowed Van Gaal to change the emphasis of attack as United continually hit long balls towards the Belgian, a tactic that Allardyce has been criticised for using himself in the past.

The West Ham manager said: “In the end we couldn’t cope with long-ball United. It's not how you normally see United play, but it got them a goal in the end.

“You might just criticise Louis Van Gaal for playing long balls as much as I’m sometimes criticised for being direct. In the end it’s paid off for them so you can’t knock it.”

Even though West Ham were held to a draw the manager was still proud of his team’s performance.

He said: “It was a terrific performance from all who took part, they excited the crowd but with the quality Manchester United have you know they will be a threat. They were a bit fortunate but it was a great finish from Blind.”

The former Newcastle manager hopes his side can maintain that level against high-flying Southampton, who they face on Wednesday.

“It's difficult to maintain this level and recover because we've played Man United on Sunday and Southampton played QPR on Saturday, but they've got to take a lot of confidence from how they played and try and lift themselves,” he told the club's website.

“We've been outstanding as well, but not been quite as consistent as them with the victories that we've gained. They've had one or two more victories, but hopefully we can lift ourselves to the same level of performance.”