ALAN Pardew insists that his players were forced to accept some
stern words following defeat at Preston and will go into the Boxing
Day clash with Nottingham Forest looking to exorcise the mistakes
of Deepdale and get back to winning ways.
"We had a heart to heart after the Preston game," he
explained. "The performance, particularly in the first half
was not good enough, and the players were told that.
"The feedback this week has been very positive. The players
have accepted the criticism and are determined to put it right
against Nottingham Forest.
"When you are in the thick of a game it is difficult to
appreciate the finer points of what has happened. We have taken a
step back this week to examine the whole picture, look at what is
going right and what we need to do better and get that message
across to the players.
"In the second-half against Preston we showed good spirit and
desire to retrieve the situation and we'll take those positive
aspects into the Forest game, where it will be important to get a
result in front of the home fans."
Indeed, Pards is looking forward to a Christmas cracker of an
atmosphere at Upton Park for the visit of Forest, but admits that
his players could face a tense Hammers crowd desperate for victory.
"The Nottingham Forest game is a big one," he said,
"especially falling on Boxing Day when the fans would love to
see a win.
"The Boleyn Ground crowd always give magnificent support to
the team, but after the Preston result we have to expect a certain
amount of tension in the stands.
"That has been caused by our performances, nothing else, and
we can't blame the fans for feeling that way. They desperately
want the Club to do well and we must respond to that on Sunday by
putting in a strong display."
Pards admits that the defeat at Preston has put the brakes on what
was building into a strong unbeaten run. With the New Year
approaching the Hammers boss is keen to get back on the winning
trial as soon as possible.
"The real stuff must start now," insisted Pards.
"We're going into the second half of the season, every
point is vital, and the pressure is going to mount.
"Last weekend was definitely a set back going into such an important time of the season, especially considering the performance we put in at Sunderland to win 2-0.
"It's been a bit of a subdued week and the pressure is
on the players. But it's my job to balance that pressure, pick
the players up and make sure they are right to go out and give a
good performance on Boxing Day.
"We've been trying to work the disappointment out of our
system and start moving in the right direction again.
"We're still up there fighting at the right end of the
League and we're confident that we can put together the results
to retrieve ground on the leaders. But we have to win a lot of
games and we need to create more consistency in our play."
After a week that has seen speculation concerning his job, Pards
remains as focused as ever. And the determined Hammers boss
reaffirmed his belief that he has what it takes to fulfill the
Club's ambitions.
"I came here because it was a big Club with big
ambitions," he said. "Of course, at West Ham United the
expectations are going to be high, but I still believe that I can
do it.
"You have to draw on what you believe in. I'll continue to
do the job to the best of my ability . The speculation is out of my
hands. I just want to focus on what I can control, which is the
performance of the team.
"Hopefully, we can hit back with a good run of performances
over this tough and hectic period, and go on to mount a strong
challenge for promotion."