Looking at the trip to Coventry, he says:
"I imagine the fans are going to be up and ready for it again and we are going to find out, but we hope to stamp our authority on the game and come back with the three points.
"I was disappointed to hear about the trouble beforehand at Spurs and it is a shame because I understand a lot of our guys were in trouble and got arrested.
"But the ones that made it into the stadium were terrific; they have been great all year turning up like they have in droves to support the club.
"Ultimately it is about them and if they refuse to turn up or start losing faith then the club will become a dinosaur, which is the last thing we need.
"The most important people are the fans, the players have to understand that - which they do, as do I.
"We have to make sure we give them the performances to ensure they come back week in week out.
"The one thing you would say about West Ham fans is that they want the players to wear that shirt with pride and if they do end up getting beaten they go down with honour, and I think that is what we did on Wednesday."
Indeed the effort, if not the result, pleased Alan midweek and he adds:
"You could see in extra time that we had given everything we could and we hardly had any real energy left at the end of the game.
"That is a tribute to the effort we put in; you can only give 100% and then hopefully you have got enough to win the game.
"We are at the back end of a really tight long run but we will get a week's rest after this one which will be much needed.
"But we are not going to search for excuses before the game - we have to focus on this and we have concentrated on giving them plenty of rest, and they had a very light day today.
"It cuts down the time I have working with the team which is unfortunate for me but these players are fantastic professionals, and they will be ready, I am sure of it when we enter that pitch.
"It would be nice to get a positive result going in to next week because then we have West Brom and we could find ourselves right next to them with a chance of going above them.
"That is the immediate challenge in front of us and what we have to focus on.
Having captured three players since taking over, with Brian Deane the latest of them, he does not rule out further moves in the transfer market.
"I always treat that as a moving feast and you never know who is going out or coming in at a football club; it never ceases to surprise and amaze you," he explains.
"With the signing of Brian Deane there is competition all round, in attack as well as midfield and defence.
"Players will have to accept when they are not playing and do their damndest to take their chance when they do get in and that should improve performance.
"I was very much aware of what Brian did last year with Leicester and he will be good to bring into our pool of strikers.
"To me it was a 'no brainer' which made good business sense - and we have got fantastic strikers here who will benefit from his experience.
"I'm hoping he has a good effect on them, and there will be games where we don't play so well and have to claw out a result in this division - Brian is that sort of player who can affect those games."
"I never say never but I do feel that the players we have got in, a striker, defender, and attacker spread across the squad will help and we need to now get the right levels of performance on the pitch to keep the competition high.
"It is on the pitch where the team is going to threaten to win the league or certainly get promoted - and we are starting to look better."
Looking at Coventry, he adds:
"With no disrespect they were a team that had a bit of a bad run towards the back end of last year, changed it again, and are looking for the winning formula.
"A lot of teams are searching for that consistent winning formula and it is fair to say they haven't got that yet otherwise they would be in the top two.
"But nor have we, we are in the same pool as them, and it is going to be a tough game."
As for the experiment of starting with Matthew Etherington on the right at Spurs, Alan explains:
"We just felt that with him coming on his left foot he would be more threat to the goal on the night; obviously Carr is very quick and we felt that going round the outside with lack of height we had up front wouldn't do us any favours.
"He had a little go at it but didn't look particularly comfortable and you have got to hold your hands up and say it wasn't working for the lad so we changed it round.
"I am the first to hold my hands up and I expect my players to do the same when they make mistakes.
"I concentrate on us and I just felt it was right for us on the night but obviously I don't know everybody inside and out yet so I am getting to see what they can and can't do as we go.
"I am getting more comfortable with the squad and they will get more comfortable with me and we will do whatever it takes to win games."
Alan is looking to working with the injured Steve Lomas and Rufus Brevett in the not too distant future, and he adds:
"I think they are both fantastic characters let alone players and they will be essential for us in this division and I am desperate for them to come back but we can't keep harping on about who might be coming back - we have to concentrate on what we have got this Saturday and make sure we get the right result.
"That's how football works and we must keep our house in order and look short term; looking long term is for the early part of the week but it is Friday and I am looking forward to the game tomorrow."