Cape Town - New Everton manager Sam Allardyce says he is excited to take over at what he calls a 'great club', ahead of his first match in charge on Saturday.

The Toffees will face Huddersfield Town at Goodison Park looking to kick off Big Sam’s 18-month reign as impressively as the caretaker David Unsworth ended his spell, when they beat West Ham 4-0 on Wednesday.

"I've always thought Everton was a great club," Allardyce said. "Obviously, the club has gone through a difficult spell and hopefully I can put that behind us as quickly as possible and start looking upwards again.

"Because, ultimately, it's the ambition of the club, the ambition of the owner and the board, allied to the fact that it's Everton and all the fantastic history, which have proved to be key for me.

"The attraction of the club itself, the people I've known at the club - Peter Reid is one of my best mates, so are Andy Gray and Paul Bracewell whom I worked with at Sunderland - these people have always made me aware of just how special and unique a club Everton is and I feel really enthused and energised to come in as manager."

The win over the Hammers was Everton’s fourth victory all season, leaving them 15th in the standings, and Unsworth has urged fans to be patient with the former Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, and Sunderland, and Crystal Palace manager.

"Well, Sam has my full backing," Unsworth said. "The board have made their decision and like any manager, he needs to be afforded time, patience.

"He needs to be given the chance and the backing from the whole football club and he certainly has my backing."

Everton next welcome Huddersfield to Goodison Park in an English Premiership clash on Saturday.

Kick off is at 17:00.