LAST week proved quite successful for Teddy Sheringham, on a
personal level at least.
Captain against Crewe and Leicester in the absence of Steve Lomas,
the former England striker turned in two virtuoso performances. His
free-kick goal against the Railwaymen was top-class, while another
two strikes against Leicester proved that the 38-year-old forward
is still a high-quality performer.
But Teddy's joy was tempered by two points out of a possible
six, results that belied some fine West Ham displays.
"We certainly had the chances to win both games," he
admitted. "In the Crewe match we had a lot of chances towards
the end of the game and were disappointed not to come away with
three points.
"It was a similar story against Leicester, although I think
the character we showed to come back from two goals down was
tremendous for such a young team.
"Going in 2-1 down at half-time could have been tough, but we
came out in the second-half and really got stuck into them. After
we equalised we were the only team that looked like winning it.
"To take just two points out of those two games was definitely
a blow, but the performance we gave, particularly against
Leicester, was encouraging.
"If we can keep playing to those sort of levels then we'll
still have a good chance of securing a place in the Play-offs.
Obviously we've given ourselves some work to do, but everybody
in the squad is still confident we can do it, and after the Easter
break we need to come back fresh and ready to start putting some
results on the board."
Teddy's decision to give Marlon Harewood the second-half
penalty, despite being on a hat-trick surprised many observers.
However, the 17 goal striker, explained that he has an agreement to
share spot-kick responsibilities with Marlon, and Friday was his
turn.
"We're both able penalty takers," said Teddy,
"and although I was on a hat-trick Marlon and I have an
agreement to share the penalty taking. He wanted to take it and it
was his turn, that's all there is to it.
"Both of us are capable of scoring them, both of us can miss
them. Unfortunately, on that Ian Walker made the save, but Marlon
is quite capable of scoring from the spot and there's been no
problem with the arrangement in the past.
"You can look at the penalty as a good chance that came and
went, but we had others in both games. Marlon was upset at missing,
but it's the team's responsibility and we have to shoulder
that responsibility together."
Now the squad will look for the right response over the Easter
break and prepare for two tough away trips to Wigan and Burnley
when the League programme resumes in two weeks time.
"Not winning in either of those two games has left us with
plenty to do," admitted Teddy, "and now we need to go up
to Wigan and Burnley and look to get something.
"It's not going to be easy, but we've got a couple of
weeks to prepare and if we can give a similar performance to the
Leicester game we'll have a good chance of taking some points
from those games."
Always ready to offer the benefit of his experience to younger
players, Teddy was impressed at the way Hammers young stars coped
with the pressure of two important home games in a week.
"The two centre-backs, Anton and Elliott Ward, did very well
together," he exclaimed, "especially as Elliott was
making his debut. He looked very composed and seeing those two play
so well together should be a huge boost for the future.
"Mark Noble also did well in those games. I've been really
impressed with Mark since coming to the Club. I love players who
can play good, one-touch football, and his movement and vision are
excellent.
"He's a credit to the Club and will be an important player
in years to come."
Teddy Shows His Class
22nd March 2005