Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen has expressed his belief that the current competition between Chris Kluwe and Marquette King to be the franchise's number one kicker is a good thing for his side.

Veteran Kluwe was brought in to replace Shane Lechler, who joined Houston during the close season, but his status as favourite to slot straight into the side has come under threat from King.

The 24-year-old has faced criticism over his consistency since joining the Raiders last season, but Allen believes that he has improved enough to push Kluwe for a starting place.

"I've seen improvement. I've seen [King's] consistency get better and I think that's a good battle. I think that's a good competition between him and Kluwe," ESPN quotes Allen as saying.

"Marquette, he's a guy that's working extremely hard and he's gotten better. The consistency with him as far as the punts, as far as the get-off times, the little details are the things that we're still hoping to see him continue to improve.

"I think the last week or so, I've seen a lot of improvement out of him, so I think it's a nice competition we have going there."

The Raiders will begin the new NFL season with an away trip to face the Indianapolis Colts on September 8.