ALAN Pardew has warned his Hammers squad not to get carried
away, despite taking six points from their last two games.
Pards led his side to important wins at Wigan and Burnley. But the
Hammers boss knows that, with the promotion race hotting up, his
side must turn in another accomplished display at home to Coventry
City tomorrow.
"We're in good form and we need to carry that on,"
insisted Pards. "But there's still a lot of work to be
done and we're certainly not getting carried away.
"We had three wins on the spin not that long ago and then shot
ourselves in the foot. It's important that we stay focused on
winning the next game right now and make sure we don't get
wrapped up in the things going on around us.
"I felt we were unfortunate not to win our last two home
games against Crewe and Leicester. We started to show a bit of form
in those games and we've really managed to build on that this
week and got two big wins at Wigan and Burnley.
"It's got us into a position where our future is really in
our own hands. Now we've got to capitalise by making sure we
get a result against Coventry."
Pards does have a points goal at the back of his mind that will
take Hammers into the Play-offs, but the West Ham boss is aiming
higher than simply securing the Club's passage into the stop
six.
"I think the points total we need will be around 74
points," he explained, "similar to what it has been in
previous seasons.
"But we're setting our sights higher than just making the
Play-offs. I've never finished lower than fourth in any full
season as a manger and obviously I want that to continue.
"Finishing fourth also gives you a home tie, and that should
be our goal."
Alan watched Coventry beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Highfield Road
on Wednesday night, and believes new boss Micky Adams has got them
playing to a much higher standard than their League position
suggests.
"Coventry played like a top six side against Forest,"
warned Pards. "They probably need three more points to secure
their safety and what better place to get them than at Upton Park.
"Micky Adams is a terrific manager and he's done a great
job at Coventry in such a short space of time. He had a tough spell
towards the end at Leicester, but he's really bounced back and
his team are on the up at the moment."
But Pards is counting on plenty of help from the Hammers faithful
on Saturday, who he insists have been tremendous in their support
over the last few weeks.
"The fans are doing everything they can to get behind the
team," he insisted, "and that is great to see. I think
they recognise that this is a crucial time of the season and
it's fantastic that everyone is pulling together.
"Hopefully we can put in a performance against Coventry that
really re-ignites their desire, because our fans are going to play
a vital part in these final six games."
Pards Carries The Fight
8th April 2005