Alan Pardew looks forward to the greatest occasion of his
managerial career so far, the FA Cup final against Liverpool at the
Millennium Stadium today…
"We thrive on being underdogs. It's a West Ham United tradition. In fact, I got a lovely e-mail the other day to remind me what West Ham are about - the eternal triers who never give in against the odds. Most of our fans are from that walk of life, too, and hopefully the players will represent that against Liverpool in the final.
"If I was a neutral, I'd be looking forward to this game because of the way both teams play. And if you're a fan you know there will be two sets of exuberant, vocal fans. It'll be a great, great spectacle. Sometimes games don't live up to expectation because of the tension but we're relaxed and I just hope that we can play to our full potential. If we can do that, then hopefully the nation will get behind us.
"I don't want to look back on the season yet. Only once the trophy has been won can we look back and say: 'Liverpool had a great season they won the FA Cup' or we can look at West Ham and say: 'West Ham finished ninth, they qualified for Europe and they won a trophy. What a fantastic year.' But at the moment, there's still one to go.
"It's been a bit more relaxing this season because of the good results that we've achieved. People have been coming in with smiling faces and that makes my job easier. But it's never easy because success just brings you different problems. People knock on your door wanting more money, more tickets or even a bigger showerhead!
"The final is a one-off situation and anything can change it - a refereeing decision, failing to take your two key moments when they came along or seeing your opponents take their opportunities. These scenarios can determine the end result on Saturday.
"The pressures this year are enormously different. Last season, I knew that I needed to know exactly where we were to the penny so that I could start to try and run the club on a good footing. But it wasn't like that and although we tried to keep the financial ramifications from the players, it got through to them via the media. They dealt with it well. Today, there isn't that pressure. We're nicely flush and the chairman seems to be smiling more than he used to!
"All our young stars have signed for four or five years and we're very proud that they've committed to stay with us for that length of time. I told them right at the start of the season that they could win this trophy if they stick together and play with exuberance."
"We thrive on being underdogs. It's a West Ham United tradition. In fact, I got a lovely e-mail the other day to remind me what West Ham are about - the eternal triers who never give in against the odds. Most of our fans are from that walk of life, too, and hopefully the players will represent that against Liverpool in the final.
"If I was a neutral, I'd be looking forward to this game because of the way both teams play. And if you're a fan you know there will be two sets of exuberant, vocal fans. It'll be a great, great spectacle. Sometimes games don't live up to expectation because of the tension but we're relaxed and I just hope that we can play to our full potential. If we can do that, then hopefully the nation will get behind us.
"I don't want to look back on the season yet. Only once the trophy has been won can we look back and say: 'Liverpool had a great season they won the FA Cup' or we can look at West Ham and say: 'West Ham finished ninth, they qualified for Europe and they won a trophy. What a fantastic year.' But at the moment, there's still one to go.
"It's been a bit more relaxing this season because of the good results that we've achieved. People have been coming in with smiling faces and that makes my job easier. But it's never easy because success just brings you different problems. People knock on your door wanting more money, more tickets or even a bigger showerhead!
"The final is a one-off situation and anything can change it - a refereeing decision, failing to take your two key moments when they came along or seeing your opponents take their opportunities. These scenarios can determine the end result on Saturday.
"The pressures this year are enormously different. Last season, I knew that I needed to know exactly where we were to the penny so that I could start to try and run the club on a good footing. But it wasn't like that and although we tried to keep the financial ramifications from the players, it got through to them via the media. They dealt with it well. Today, there isn't that pressure. We're nicely flush and the chairman seems to be smiling more than he used to!
"All our young stars have signed for four or five years and we're very proud that they've committed to stay with us for that length of time. I told them right at the start of the season that they could win this trophy if they stick together and play with exuberance."