Hayden's Red Warning

DESPITE Hammers sitting four places and five points above Liverpool in the Premier League table, Hayden Mullins warns that West Ham United will be in for a tough fight if they want to take anything away with them from Anfield.

The 26-year-old midfielder insists Alan Pardew's men are confident ahead of their visit to the European Champions, but believes Hammers must be on their guard against a Reds backlash after Liverpool were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Crystal Palace in midweek.

"Liverpool are a much better side than their recent results and Anfield is always a tough place for teams to go," he said. "They have taken a bit of stick in the Press lately and they'll be really up for it on Saturday, because they'll want to put in a good performance in front of their own fans.

"We're expecting them to really come at us in the opening 15 or 20 minutes of the game and we're going to have to be on our toes.

"There could be a bit of a backlash from their result in the Carling Cup and we're going to be on our guard against that."

Hammers also left the Carling Cup this week, a 1-0 defeat at Bolton ending their interest in the competition. But after staying for a training camp in the North West ahead of Saturday's game, the midfielder insists spirit amongst the squad is high after the team got back to winning ways in the League at home to Middlesbrough.

"We feel ready and there is a good feeling in the squad," he explained. "After playing poorly at Manchester City it was really important that we not only beat Middlesbrough but also played well.

"The Bolton result was disappointing, but we put a good performance, especially first-half, and were unlucky to be on the end of a defeat.

"Confidence is high, but we're just looking to focus everything on the Liverpool game and do our best to get a result.

"It's a game that everyone in the squad is looking forward to and hopefully we can keep the good momentum we've got going on Saturday.

"They are European Champions, what more do you need to say about Liverpool. We're certainly not going to be taking them lightly. It's going to be a really tough test and we'll have to be right on our game.

"But playing at Anfield is something every player looks forward to. We'll be really up for the game and hopefully that shows in our performance on the day."