'It should have been 2-0 or 3-0, not just 1-0, but Swansea's No. 2 keeper had a stormer'

SAM Allardyce paid tribute to the Upton Park analysts after revealing they showed West Ham United the way to beat Swansea City.

Allardyce has been known for his scientific approach to management since his days in charge at Bolton Wanderers.

And the West Ham boss revealed the numbers added up for his physically imposing team even before kick-off this weekend.

"Our stats lads came up with a statistic before the game that 67 per cent of the goals Swansea have conceded this season have been from set-plays," Allardyce said.

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"The stats lads do a really good job for us, and strangely enough we won the game with a goal from a set-play.

"It's very pleasing because we were under big pressure to get a result after a run of games that haven't brought the points we were looking for.

"But our home form has been great all season and we thoroughly deserved the win. The only disappointment for me is that it should have been 2-0 or 3-0, not just 1-0, but Swansea's No. 2 keeper had a stormer."

Allardyce was delighted with the manner in which West Ham shut down a Swansea side who beat them 3-0 at the Liberty in the first week of the season.

Though they had the majority of the possession, Swansea struggled to carve opportunities against a well-organised home rearguard and it was the Hammers who had the better chances.

"The team got the defending right," added Allardyce, whose side were without a clean sheet in nine games before this.

"We snuffed out Swansea's attacking flair. They have a super top scorer in Michu, one of the leading scorers in the league this season, but he had maybe one shot and didn't hit the target.

"We were compact as a unit. Swansea have not lost in seven league games, but we limited them to one or two chances and that's key.

"If you keep a clean sheet, you only have to score one goal and you've won the game."

Andy Carroll was the man who delivered the winner for Allardyce, the powerhouse striker netting for only the second time since arriving on a season-long loan from Liverpool.

Carroll's time at West Ham has been wrecked by injury, and this was his first full game in nine weeks. And Allardyce admitted the plan had been to take him off long before he headed home in the 77th minute.

"Andy only played a few minutes at Fulham on his comeback the other night and I thought he would only last an hour," he said.

"But there were no signs of fatigue. He looked like he was enjoying himself so I left him on there. I was surprised he stayed on, but he wasn't puffing and blowing. He looked fresh and I just hope he can stay fit, it would be great for him and for us."