TONY Gale admits to being as frustrated as any Hammers supporter by
the team's struggle to maintain consistency this season. But
the former Upton Park favourite is confident Alan Pardew's
squad can turn things around over the next few months.
"To play so well and beat the top team in the League was a
great achievement and proved what West Ham are capable of,"
said Tony. "But then to follow it up by losing at home to
Sheffield United was really disappointing.
"It summed up West Ham's season so far. As it stands, we
haven't won three League games in a row and that has got to
change over the next couple of months.
"West Ham United, in my opinion, have one of the best squads
in the Championship and are still in with a great chance of earning
automatic promotion.
"But we've got to show more consistency in our
performances and start to dominate the matches that we really
should be winning.
"At the moment it's difficult to tell how the Hammers are
going to play, week in week out, which I'm sure is really
frustrating for the manager. There are a lot of positives to take
from the recent performances, especially the win at Ipswich, but
there are things that need to be worked on as well.
"A run of five or six games unbeaten would put West Ham right
back into contention for the automatic promotion spots, and that
has got to be the aim."
A positive for Alan Pardew's team is that they remain in the
Play-off places without having hit their best form, and Tony
believes that they must capitalise on their position in the weeks
ahead.
"It's been said time and again, but the Championship
really is a very close league," he explained. "West Ham
have lost nine games this season, a third of their matches, which
is certainly a higher figure than Alan Pardew would have wanted at
this stage of the season.
"We haven't been good enough so far this season, but
we're still right in the hunt for the promotion places and with
a decent run of results could be in amongst the automatic spots. It
really is that close and West Ham need to take advantage in the
second half of the season.
"We've got the players and the set up to do it, and
I'm still confident promotion is a realistic goal for the Club
this season."
All the talk over the last few weeks has been about West Ham
United's lack of consistency, especially when faced with
so-called lesser opposition. Tony believes that not being able to
win games comfortably has ingrained a nervousness that is
undermining the team's performances. However, he ensues that
the problem is a fixable one for Alan Pardew and his staff.
"We haven't shown the ability to win games comfortably
this season," said the Sky TV pundit. "When you are
always leading by the odd goal it puts pressure on the defence to
hold out and causes players to make mistakes.
"We've definitely had a problem killing teams off, but
that could be solved if we can get a really good win under our
belts over the next month or so.
"That would give the team confidence in their ability to win
well and might see us really kick on into a solid unbeaten
run."
Galey believes that this weekend's FA Cup Third Round clash
against Norwich could provide the perfect tonic for the Hammers.
"The players will be really looking forward to the Cup game at
Upton Park," he said. "It gives them a perfect chance to
banish the memory of Monday's defeat in front of the home fans.
"I've seen Norwich quite a few times this season and I
still feel they are short on Premiership quality. The Canaries are
a good Championship side rather than a top-flight outfit, which is
why I think West Ham will have an excellent chance against them.
"It should be a really close game and the visit of a
Premiership team will ensure a big crowd and a great atmosphere at
Upton Park on Saturday."
Tony's Turn Around
5th January 2005