Sam Allardyce is prepared to allow Mauro Zarate to swap West Ham for QPR because he simply "wasn't good enough" to make his mark at Upton Park.
The 27-year-old is set to sign for Rangers on loan until the end of the season having quickly fallen out of favour since his summer move to West Ham.
Zarate hit out at Allardyce on Monday for not giving him enough opportunities at Upton Park, having made eight appearances and scoring twice since joining from Velez Sarsfield -- with his last outing coming in the 2-1 win at West Brom on December 2.
Having been the first of nine signings made by West Ham during the summer transfer window, the former Birmingham loanee fell behind fellow summer recruits Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho in the pecking order -- with Stewart Downing enjoying a renaissance in a number 10 role also keeping him out of the side.
Zarate was quoted as saying his ability had not been greeted with the required respect from Allardyce, but the West Ham boss hit back when asked about the forward's situation.
"He wasn't good enough," the 60-year-old replied when asked why Zarate had not played more.
"From a personal point of view, I'm better keeping my mouth shut and dealing with it internally rather than joining in -- clearly what is a lad who's very frustrated -- about not being picked. But what he's saying is not true.
"When you look at what Mauro has achieved when he's played compared to what Valencia, Sakho and [Andy] Carroll have achieved all-round, when you look at [the] game, how much he's contributed, how much he's given in the all-round game and what they've given and you've got that array of talent to choose from, then somebody's going to be unhappy."
Allardyce cited the example of Carlton Cole, another striker on West Ham's books who is struggling to break into the side, as the way a player should behave when he is restricted to rare appearances.
"Carlton Cole's sitting on the bench, not playing, not coming on," he added.
"He has had probably more chances than Carlton Cole. Carlton Cole's one of my favourites. I love him, I think he's a fantastic pro, I think he's a great guy."
And the former Bolton boss also insisted no player was picked purely on reputation or their respective relationship with the managerial team.
"It's got nothing to do with a personal point of view," Allardyce added.
"I've had a great affection for my captain [Kevin Nolan] over many years but I didn't play him against Arsenal. Does that tell you that I bias my opinion on feelings?
"I bias my feelings on what I consider to be the best team. It's a professional, clinical decision, not an emotional one.
"He [Zarate] is not good enough to play as regularly as he wants compared to the others. It's as simple as that."