Allardyce was sacked by the Magpies almost five years ago and he insists he has already banished the memories of his dismissal after returning to St James' Park during his spell in charge of Blackburn. Asked whether the Newcastle game carried an extra edge, Allardyce said:
"No, not for me. Those days are long gone.
"They happened when I got the Blackburn job and Newcastle came to Blackburn. After that they got relegated, so I didn't meet them again until we went up to Newcastle and played them.
"There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then. Life moves on, I don't live in the past. I can only look to the future as best I can.
"It's a piece of history in my career that didn't quite work out as well as I'd liked it to."
Following last weekend's 0-0 draw at home to Manchester City, West Ham sit ninth in the Premier League table, one point and one place above Newcastle, after embarking on a tough run of fixtures. Allardyce said:
"We're looking for results rather than victories in terms of the teams we're playing against. If we can get any wins from this group of fixtures, then that's a massive bonus for us.
"Everyone will look at Stoke or West Brom rather than Chelsea or Manchester United as being where we might get those wins, but it might not work out like that.
"As long as we can keep accumulating points, then that's the most important thing."
Source: team_talk
