Monday 15 September 2014 22:48, UK
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says Mohamed Diame’s transfer to Hull City represents a very good piece of business for the Upton Park club.
And Allardyce said a failure by Diame to build on his strong first season with the club made the decision to sell the player a straightforward one, as West Ham prepare to face Diame's Hull on Monday.
Diame spoke in the week about his disappointment at how he was used by West Ham, stating he felt he should have played in central midfield more.
"At West Ham I was shunted around all the different positions," Diame told the Daily Star. "I remember one time I had to play as a striker.
"I wasn't able to get the biggest clubs interested in me, as when they came to watch me I'd been put in a position that was not mine.
“At least with Hull I will be certain of playing in my favoured role.”
Allardyce went deeper into the reasoning behind his willingness to allow Diame's departure - and confirmed a last-minute deal was struck with Marseille winger Morgan Amalfitano to fill the vacant space in his squad.
"Mo was running out of contract and there was a fantastic offer from Hull City which meant that, with Mo coming to us on a free transfer, we made a very handsome profit on that deal," he said.
"He had two seasons with us. I think that his first season was something we expected him to improve on.
"He didn't quite go as far as we expected from thereon unfortunately. So it was good business all round from our point of view because it allowed us to get Morgan in and Mo got what he wanted in the end and that was a move and obviously a bigger contract.
"Mo would have continued to play in central midfield had his performances been as his first season with us. In the end, those performances didn't quite live up to the ones he gave us in the early part of his career here.
"My responsibility is the team and the whole team, not one particular player. If there's a particular position you need to play somebody to find if they can play that little bit better than they did, then you try and do that. That's why I moved Mo around.
Mo was running out of contract and there was a fantastic offer from Hull City which meant that, with Mo coming to us on a free transfer, we made a very handsome profit on that deal.
"If he wasn't happy with it and he's moved on then that's fine. From my point of view, I have to look after 25 players throughout the season and then select the best team available.
“Within that, a player picks himself. That's what a player does. And a player drops himself. It's not me, they do it themselves by calculating and keeping track of their performances.
"When their performances don't meet the level you expect then their position is in jeopardy. And if their performances do meet expectations then they stay in the team."
Watch Hull v West Ham on Monday night football, with coverage from 7pm on Sky Sports 1.
