Sam Allardyce is backing his depleted squad to rise to the challenge posed by Brighton & Hove Albion in their new Amex Stadium on Monday night.
The manager will have to make at least two changes with Henri Lansbury and Matt Taylor definitely out. It may mean an opportunity for at least one untried youngster to get on the bench, while the likes of Mark Noble and Jack Collison are hoping to return to the starting eleven.
The manager is good friends with Brighton counterpart Gus Poyet and is expecting nothing less than a tough contest in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Happy belated birthday Sam for last Wednesday...
SA: It wasn't as happy as I would have liked of course because my whole life revolves around results in football. Of course, it was a great disappointment to lose at Southampton on Tuesday. That put a little dampener on the birthday but I still enjoyed the time I had with the family. Of course that is now forgotten and we have moved on to Brighton on Monday. It is another big contest, and another big challenge and hopefully we can do a lot better than we did at Southampton.
How are the team mentally after that setback?
SA: It was a big blow to us. We all know that the first half we didn't achieve our best football. In the second half when we did find our feet we created enough chances to have at least got the equaliser and failed to so. The defeat was a big disappointment to take for us because we really wanted to maintain our undefeated record away from home and keep the gap between us and Southampton to just two points. We have allowed that to stretch and people may say we are not in a bad position but I really expected us to come away undefeated against Southampton. Really on the balance that might have been the right result.
How are you going to deal with the inconsistency?
SA: We can't find consistency at the moment. Injuries are now taking their toll on our selection process so we are finding out have we really got the strength in depth to continue and stay in and around the top of the league? The lads who step in are going to have to step up to the mark and that's where we might lose the consistency we have been looking for. I am having to make a lot of changes because of injuries but most clubs have to face this at some stage of the season. What we have to do is face it head on and continue to get results until that position eases itself and we have a bigger squad to choose from.
How critical is the Brighton match?
SA: Brighton is critical. We have to get a result. I don't want to face back to back defeats at any stage of the season. We have bounced back brilliantly after the games we have lost before. I think they have got to do that again on Monday. It is a little more difficult. One is the injuries and two we are playing a very good team at home again in Brighton.
How important is the travelling support?
SA: The best accolade I can pay the West Ham fans is that Southampton posted its record-breaking crowd last Tuesday. That means for all the time that they were at St Mary's in the Premier League they never beat that crowd on Tuesday night. The only reason that crowd was as big as it was was every West Ham fan bought every ticket available to come and support us.
We are bitterly disappointed that we didn't given them anything to cheer about at the end of it by getting a goal back and getting a draw. The fans are great home and away, particularly at Doncaster where they were probably nearly 40 per cent of the crowd that day. At Crystal Palace, they tried to stick them down one side out of the way and get them to be quiet. But they won't be quiet. We have played some great stuff and got some great results away from home with their help.
What are your thoughts on Gus Poyet as a young manager?
SA: He is one of many. There is Nigel Adkins at Southampton, Simon Grayson at Leeds, what Karl Robinson is doing at MK Dons is outstanding at the moment while Dougie Freedman has turned around Crystal Palace. There are many more young managers making their way.
I just hope they get the chance to go and manage in the Premier League and continue to grow. I would say to them don't fall foul to a difficult time and the club cast them aside or get rid of them.
Paul Simpson was looking one of the brightest young managers in the country a few years ago. He did back to back promotions at Carlisle. He went to Preston thinking it was a better move, got them to the play-offs after that and then had a poor start to the season and got the sack. Since then where is he? He has almost disappeared off the face of the earth. As quick as you rise, you can fall just as quick in this game. Young managers need to beware of the bad run and that is when other people's loyalty to them will be tested. That is key to their development and going onwards and upwards.
Gus has done a good job, hasn't he?
SA: It is outstanding. The ethos and structure of the whole club has been well managed from top to bottom. The owners as well as Gus have combined well to create a winning formula. That has paid off handsomely. The team has got promoted and is going along with a new stadium, which has taken Brighton out of the doldrums. They have a fabulous new ground.
I met Gus on a personal basis during the World Cup. We were analysing the World Cup for Al Jazeera TV and I found him really good company. I really enjoyed him as a person, and not just as a coach.
Did you ever try to sign him as a player?
SA: He was always far too expensive! He wouldn't fall in our financial bracket.
Craig Mackail-Smith chose Brighton over West Ham in the summer. What happened there?
SA: We tried as hard as everyone else. I know he talked to us and Leicester, and maybe one other club. For whatever reason he chose Brighton - maybe he thought he would maybe play more there than at West Ham. We had Freddie Piquionne, Carlton Cole and John Carew.
He has done great for them and produced the goals that Gus wanted him to. He will be a major threat against us on Monday night that we have to make sure we look after. He is a proven goalscorer.
He has got off the mark pretty quick and because he has done that, he is looking like he will be Brighton's leading goalscorer.
Any update on the injury situation?
SA: We have got a lot of injury concerns. Carlton [Cole] is still struggling, Matt [Taylor] has been out for a while. He came back against Southampton and thought he was all right and then felt his other calf. We have lost David Bentley for the season. That is another big blow to us and we have lost Henri [Lansbury] as well, he reported a knee injury after the game that is pretty serious. James Tomkins is still feeling his groin.
We are in a bit of an injury crisis. Rob Green is recovering well and we will see how he is doing before we decide on whether to extend Manuel Almunia's stay from Arsenal.