Allardyce: Final is no grudge match

Sam Allardyce insists he has no axe to grind with Blackpool ahead of West Ham's Wembley encounter with his former club.

Standing in his way of promotion back to the Premier League on Saturday are the Seasiders, the club where Allardyce cut his managerial teeth before he was also ruthlessly shown the door after narrowly missing out on promotion to Division One in 1996.

But the 57-year-old insists he bears no grudges ahead of the £90million promotion shoot-out, saying: "It's long gone, water under the bridge."

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved.