Pards' Christmas Sheri

AFTER a Boxing Day rollercoaster, Alan Pardew praised his Hammers side for firing the Club closer to the automatic promotion places with a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.

On a day that saw Championship leaders Wigan and Ipswich both slip up, Pards was delighted to secure the points at Upton Park, even if the Hammers did make heavy weather of the victory after leading 2-0 at half-time.

"It was a very important win for us today," admitted Alan. "It moves us closer to the automatic promotion places, keeps us right in the hunt and now our focus moves to a tough away trip to Rotherham.

"We were very good in the first-half, dominated possession and really made it count. At half-time we were just looking for more of the same. But we got hit by a couple of quick goals during a bad period in the match for us and suddenly the whole atmosphere of the match changed.

"We looked nervous after conceding the first goal. Forest hadn't really had a shot on goal before that, but suddenly we started to sit very deep and invite pressure.
"Credit the players though. We didn't throw on strikers and go chasing the game. We kept our shape, didn't panic and in the end got the winning goal that I thought our overall performance deserved."

With the pace and power of Marlon Harewood complemented by Teddy Sheringham's deftness of touch, the Hammers looked a threat all afternoon. Alan was delighted with the performance of his forward players.

"Teddy is a class player," enthused Pards, "and if you give him the right delivery then he'll more often than not convert the chances.

"Marlon did terrifically well for us, as did the wide players Matty Etherington and Luke Chadwick.

"There were some great performances and that really turned it around for us after conceding two quick goals in the second-half.

"Gavin Williams came on for his West Ham United debut during a really difficult period of the game and showed that he has the temperament to perform at this level. I thought he gave us something a bit different and helped to turn the game back in our favour.

"He has the qualities to be a success at West Ham and I'm sure the fans will take to him.

"Then there was Malky Mackay, who came back into the side for his first game since October and played very well. He was puffing a bit in the second-half, but I thought Malky showed a tremendous attitude and we've missed his experience in the last couple of months."

After a somewhat fortuitous opening goal, when Forest goalkeeper Paul Gerrard's clearance deflected in off Matty Etherington, it was suggested that the Hammers had ridden their luck in winning 3-2. But, after closing the gap on automatic promotion to six points, Pards wasn't keen to pin it all on luck.

"I don't think the result was anything to do with luck," he countered. "We played very well in the first-half, nearly kicked ourselves in the foot during the second-half, but came through to win.

"In the first-half we could have scored five, but we have been short on emphatic wins recently and that showed when we started to get jittery in the second-half.

"We need a big win to really prove to ourselves that we are capable of beating teams comfortably. It would be nice if we could get a really good win soon to lift our confidence, because when we are playing well we are still finding it difficult to make our dominance count."

With just one full day to recover before the trip to Rotherham, the fitness of the Hammers squad is going to be tested to the limit, with Anton Ferdinand joining Carl Fletcher on the doubtful list.

"We lost Carl with a groin injury he picked up in training," explained Pards, "and that is a blow for us. Anton was struggling during the second-half, but didn't alert the bench because he didn't want to go off.

"Eventually he was replaced and we'll have to see. Rotherham won away from home for the first time today and it will be a tough trip for us on Tuesday.

"But we can approach it with confidence after this result and hopefully we can put in another strong performance and start to find the consistency that has been missing so far this season."