ALAN Pardew praised the bubbling cup-tie atmosphere inside Upton
Park for lifting his team to the performance that booked West
Ham's passage into the FA Cup Fourth Round.
"There was a magnificent atmosphere around Upton Park,"
exclaimed Pards, after watching Marlon Harewood's goal deliver
the scalp of Premiership Norwich.
"The team really benefited from the support they got. It was a
completely different feeling around the ground to Monday's game
and the players responded with a positive statement after the
criticisms of the Sheffield United match.
"Sometimes a lift from the fans can be the difference in a
team's performance. With young players like Mark Noble making
his full debut, we were hoping for a really positive atmosphere
against Norwich.
"The fans certainly delivered that and I'd like to think
we paid them back with an excellent win against a very capable
Norwich side."
Noble acquitted himself very well in just his third appearance for
the first-team, prompting Alan Pardew to insist that the England
Under-18 captain could go on to be a very important player for West
Ham United.
"We think very highly of Mark," insisted Pards, "and
he made a very impressive full debut.
"He absolutely loves the Club, his family live just around the
corner, and the win over Norwich was a great start to his career.
He's played in an FA Cup victory and put in a fine performance.
"Everybody is hoping that Mark can go on to become a
cornerstone of the Club."
However, it was the recalled duo of Luke Chadwick and Jimmy Walker
that proved to be the cornerstone of a great 1-0 win over the
Canaries. The former setting up Harewood's winner and
terrorising the Norwich defence all afternoon, while in goal Walker
put up an impregnable last line of defence, making save after save
to deny the top-flight outfit.
"Luke Chadwick had a terrific game," beamed Pards.
"He caused them a lot of problems travelling with the ball and
did very well to set up Marlon for the goal.
"Jimmy Walker again showed us what an excellent goalkeeper he
is. He made some vital saves and brought a real calmness to the
team.
"Jimmy put in a similar performance in his last game for us
against Chelsea and I had to make a difficult choice between Steve
and him after that match.
"It's very encouraging for the Club to have two good
goalkeepers competing for the number one jersey.
"Steve has had a great year for us, so I'll have to make
another tough decision before the Wolves game next weekend."
The win over Norwich was the perfect tonic after the disappointment
of Monday's defeat to Sheffield United and underlined the
fighting spirit inside the Hammers camp. Now Pards is hoping the
team can inject that spirit into their promotion chase.
"We were despondent after Sheffield United," he said, and
we felt that we had let people down.
"But we have come back this week and showed magnificent
spirit. The holiday schedule was very tough on the squad and
we've had to manage with a lot of players missing through
injury this week.
"That put more responsibility on the younger players in the
squad, but they saw this as a good opportunity and responded
magnificently.
"We should have a few more of our big names back ahead of the
trip to Wolves, but the players out there today did themselves no
harm at all."
Malky Mackay, captain for the day against his old club, epitomised
that winning spirit, and with three able team skippers missing
through injury, Pards praised the leadership of the Scotland
defender.
"It was great to see Malky Mackay receive a big ovation from
the Norwich fans," added Alan. "He's a real leader,
on the pitch as well as off it, and his performance was full of
character and determination.
"There have been a lot of positives to come out of the game
and it puts us in an encouraging position for the resumption of the
League programme.
"It's fantastic to be in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup,
but promotion remains our main target, and we'll be looking to
take confidence from the Norwich performance and hopefully use it
to good effect in our preparation for a tough trip to Wolves on
Saturday."
Pards Praises Amazing Atmosphere
9th January 2005