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."
Pards' Christmas Sheri
26th December 2004