West Ham manager Sam Allardyce insisted his side produced an “outstanding” performance despite being booed off at Upton Park following a goalless draw with struggling Bristol City.

The Robins started last night’s match bottom of the Championship but they frustrated the hosts with a resolute defensive performance. The home fans showed their displeasure when Allardyce took off Sam Baldock for Carlton Cole in the second half and also at the final whistle as the Irons slipped five points behind leaders Southampton.

But Allardyce said: “It was an outstanding performance and it’s just a shame we didn’t finish it off by getting the goal that would have given us the victory. Had we got one perhaps we would have gone on to get more.

“Sadly it was a very frustrating night for us of course. I couldn’t have asked any more from the lads in terms of breaking down a very stubborn backline.

"I thought we did that magnificently well breaking eight and nine down because our chances created were great but unfortunately we couldn’t find the finishing quality to put the ball in the back of the net so we all end up very frustrated.“

When asked whether it was harsh for the supporters to boo them, Allardyce replied: “Absolutely 100 per cent yes. That’s what fans can do if they feel we haven’t won a game we should have done. But they can’t be disappointed in the performance.

"They can be disappointed in the result but they can’t be disappointed in the performance. For me, it’s a frustrating night for us all but seven points out of nine. There are times when you aren’t going to get what you deserve and tonight was one of those.”

West Ham earned a 3-2 home win over managerless Leicester City on Saturday. A brace from striker Baldock and Julien Faubert’s first goal for 19 months helped the Hammers remain in the top two. But Allardyce was adamant that they performed better in their draw with Bristol City despite failing to hit the net.

The former Newcastle manager said: “We played far better today than we did against Leicester. Far far better but then we won 3-2 and this ended up being 0-0.

“The performance was a very pleasing thing tonight but the frustration is the result. But the outstanding commitment of the lads is overcoming the amount of players we keep losing and not being available to play on a regular basis.

“The squad is small in numbers but has shown it’s got great quality because we can change the team and still produce outstanding results. This wasn’t an outstanding result because we deserved to win but it was an outstanding performance.”

Allardyce is not overly concerned by his team falling further behind the Saints because he expects there to be many more twists throughout the season.

He added: “We are frustrated we’ve lost two points on Southampton but it will swing and turn so many times between now and the end of the season. It’s never won in the beginning of November, it’s only won at the back end of April.”