Hayden: Pressure Off

Hayden Mullins believes the pressure will be on Chelsea on Wednesday when West Ham go there in the Carling Cup.

"It is a hard game for us; it is away to a team that has only lost once in the Premiership, they won 4-0 on Saturday and they have a lot of world stars in their side but the pressure is off us.

"I am sure it will be difficult but I am looking to playing at Stamford Bridge, where I have never played before - it is a sell-out, and it will be a great experience.

"They may rest a few or they may not but if they play a full team we will know what they are all about because the players are so well known."

Hayden says the wins over Stoke and Gillingham mean then players can go to Stamford Bridge with a degree of confidence, and adds:

"The best way to bounce back after QPR was to get a couple of wins and we are just looking to keep our run going now.

"We will need to keep it tight as any team coming to us would try and do; you need to sit the first half hour out and after that the game becomes more open.

"After that you get a few more chances - hopefully we will do ourselves justice."

Hayden scored West Ham's third goal on Saturday against Gillingham to seal a victory, and he says:

"It was just good to get one in front of the home fans because that is the first one at Upton Park for me.

"I went up for a corner, Bobby just shaped up to shoot, and I thought 'it could come to me' - it did, I just had to direct it in, and it was an easy one.

"It was just flying at me and I just had to divert it - but you don't really expect to score when you are playing right back so I didn't have a celebration planned."

It was far from plain sailing after that third goal, however - the second time in the league this season that the Hammers have hit three - and Hayden admits:

"They got an advantage with their goal, took the game to us in the second half and realised they might get something out of it, but we stood firm and didn't concede any more.

"Maybe last year we would have conceded two and it would have been a draw; they were pushing the ball around and throwing all they had at us, but we rode it.

"They had a flurry in the second half but I think that is all they had and then the game was played out - we got the right result, and that was what counted."