Sam Allardyce is hoping that the sacking of Sven Goran Eriksson works against Leicester City when they come to Upton Park on Saturday

�West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hoping Sven Goran Eriksson’s departure from Leicester City will play into his side’s hands at Upton Park on Saturday.

Eriksson became the second former England boss to lose his job with a Championship team this season – following Steve McClaren’s exit from Nottingham Forest – when he left the Foxes by “mutual consent” this week.

Leicester immediately put academy director Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell in temporary charge while they seek a new manager.

Former Foxes chief Martin O’Neill has reportedly been considering a return to the club, while Mark Hughes, Billy Davies and Dave Jones are also among the bookmakers’ favourites for the post.

But the Hammers are hoping the period of uncertainty for Leicester, who lost 3-0 at home to Millwall last weekend, will improve their chances of victory on Saturday.

Allardyce said: “I hope it affects them in a negative way.

“Most of their players who will be playing on Saturday are those who Sven will have brought to the club.

“I hope it doesn’t affect them in a good or positive way.”

West Ham and Leicester were listed as 4-1 joint-favourites to win the Championship before the campaign kicked-off.

But while the Hammers have lifted themselves into second place with 24 points from 13 games, the Foxes are in the bottom half despite being just five points behind the Londoners.

Eriksson had spent an estimated �20m on players following his appointment last year, but just five league wins this term was deemed not good enough.

Allardyce admits it’s all about the level of expectation at a big club when a manager has been allowed to invest heavily in his squad.

He said: “Leicester have probably spent more than anyone else in this division to try and get to where they want to go as quickly as they possibly can.

“If you’ve got the bigger purse strings you’re expected to get to the top of the league because of that financial clout.

“It’s a results-driven industry and results have to come quickly.

“But it’s such a difficult job to produce results until you get to know your players, they get to know each other and you build up a team spirit.”