Glenn Roeder says he will make sure he shakes Frank Lampard's
hand on Wednesday evening for the first floodlit game of the
season.
Frank is of course returning for the first time since his £11m summer move to Chelsea in a match postponed from the first week of the season because of the rebuilding work.
"I expect he will be looking forward to this game more than any other game," says Glenn.
"Obviously, as much as he is looking forward to returning to Upton Park, I am sure all our players that know Frank really well will also be looking forward to the game because he will be in the opposing team.
"He rose through the ranks from schoolboy days through to the youth team and into the first team very quickly.
"He captained a very successful England U21 team and by the age of 21 became a full international while wearing the West Ham shirt.
"No one would have wanted to lose a player of Frank's calibre, but as we have said many times now why we couldn't stand in his way, and the money has been used on David James, Tomas Repka, and Don Hutchison."
Glenn says he is not convinced Frank will get a hostile reception as returning players so often do and adds:
"I'm not so sure that it is absolutely guaranteed that he is going to get so much stick; you never know what a crowd's reaction is going to be to a player coming back for the first time.
"Sometimes if you get more stick than you think you deserve that only serves to fire up that player to play the best he can.
"I will certainly shake his hand when I see him; I enjoyed working with Frank though I didn't get lots of opportunities to work with him.
"He was always with the first team squad and I was often working with the lads who were in the reserves.
"But when I did work with him I saw that he was a model professional and always gave his all for the coaches that he played under and he was brought up with very good habits."
Frank played wide right against Leeds at the weekend, and Glenn adds:
"I think Claudio Ranieri has used him in all the midfield positions; he is a versatile player, and he is a very disciplined player who will always do the job he is asked to do to the best of his ability.
"His preferred role is probably the centre of midfield because he does like to get forward and get into goalscoring positions but he can also do that from wide right."
Frank is of course returning for the first time since his £11m summer move to Chelsea in a match postponed from the first week of the season because of the rebuilding work.
"I expect he will be looking forward to this game more than any other game," says Glenn.
"Obviously, as much as he is looking forward to returning to Upton Park, I am sure all our players that know Frank really well will also be looking forward to the game because he will be in the opposing team.
"He rose through the ranks from schoolboy days through to the youth team and into the first team very quickly.
"He captained a very successful England U21 team and by the age of 21 became a full international while wearing the West Ham shirt.
"No one would have wanted to lose a player of Frank's calibre, but as we have said many times now why we couldn't stand in his way, and the money has been used on David James, Tomas Repka, and Don Hutchison."
Glenn says he is not convinced Frank will get a hostile reception as returning players so often do and adds:
"I'm not so sure that it is absolutely guaranteed that he is going to get so much stick; you never know what a crowd's reaction is going to be to a player coming back for the first time.
"Sometimes if you get more stick than you think you deserve that only serves to fire up that player to play the best he can.
"I will certainly shake his hand when I see him; I enjoyed working with Frank though I didn't get lots of opportunities to work with him.
"He was always with the first team squad and I was often working with the lads who were in the reserves.
"But when I did work with him I saw that he was a model professional and always gave his all for the coaches that he played under and he was brought up with very good habits."
Frank played wide right against Leeds at the weekend, and Glenn adds:
"I think Claudio Ranieri has used him in all the midfield positions; he is a versatile player, and he is a very disciplined player who will always do the job he is asked to do to the best of his ability.
"His preferred role is probably the centre of midfield because he does like to get forward and get into goalscoring positions but he can also do that from wide right."