Former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has been appointed as the West Ham manager.

It’s official at last, Sam Allardyce is the new West Ham United manager and he plans to take the Hammers back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The 56-year-old former Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn boss has agreed a two-year deal at Upton Park and intends to build a team around the young talent that already exists at the club.

“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League,” said Allardyce after being officially unveiled as West Ham’s new boss.

“More than that, I wouldn’t have contemplated the job if I didn’t think there was the opportunity to build something substantial at West Ham.

“There is a core of very talented young players at the club who’ve come up through the youth system, have West Ham in their blood and who I know I can build a successful team around.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to, managing a club that wins more games than it loses and competing at the top of fthe table. We need to create a winning mentality and give the fans a team they can be proud to watch.”

Many West Ham fans are dubious about the style of football that Allardyce’s teams like to play. The Hammers have always been a team that likes to play with style, but the new boss moved quickly to dispel any fears that the supporters might have.

“I know there will be West Ham fans asking whether I’m going to abandon the style of play that’s been the club’s heritage over the years. All I say is it will be a tale of home and away,” said Allardyce.

“At Upton Park we’ll attempt to play the kind of passing game the fans want. We will aim to continue in the same way on our travels, but we’ll also be tough, hard to beat and utterly resilient.”

Allardyce is apparently on a �1.5million bonus to take the team back into the Premier League at the first attempt, but it also clear that the man who was dumped by Blackburn in December was not the club’s only target for the job.

West Ham were keen to get as big a name as possible to lead their Championship campaign and as well as Allardyce, they approached Irishman Martin O’Neill once again.

However, just as he did back in January, O’Neill appears to have backed out of the chance to return to football and it seems that the Hammers ran out of patience in pursuit of the former Aston Villa man.

Allardyce’s first task meanwhile, will be to persuade the likes of Demba Ba and Thomas Hitzlsperger to stay, and that may prove a difficult job.