Sam Allardyce has admitted that West Ham United face a "very difficult" task of finishing in the top four of the Premier League due to their inability to compete financially with other top sides.

The Hammers brushed aside Leicester City 2-0 at Upton Park yesterday afternoon to ensure that they will remain in a Champions League spot heading into the hectic Christmas schedule.

However, Allardyce acknowledges that remaining in their current position will be a tough ask, although he insists that a top-six finish - thus securing European football for next season - is a real possibility.

"The top four in the Premier League is very difficult to break into if you haven't got the same spending power as them," the 60-year-old told Sky Sports News.

"Lots of us have lived on the fringes in the past, I did the same at Bolton for the last two or three years. To try and get there is something that would have been beyond the club's owner's will at the time, for the spending power you need to fund for it.

"For us this season, it's just enjoying the position we're in and seeing at the end in January whether we reset our own goals and say 'can we finish in the top six, is it possible?' If we carry on the way we are, we're predicted a top-four finish. But whether we will or whether we won't is another matter."

West Ham return to action on Boxing Day when they take on league leaders Chelsea.