Chadie's Charm

AFTER watching his reshuffled side out-play Premiership Norwich in the FA Cup Third Round, Alan Pardew must now make some difficult selection decisions ahead of Saturday's game.

But he was quick to praise the players who performed so well against the Canaries, in particular Luke Chadwick, who set up Marlon Harewood's 81st minute winner and terrorised the visitors' defence all afternoon.

"We had some really big performances last weekend," he enthused. "Luke Chadwick had one of his best games for the Club and he's really blossoming both on and off the pitch.

"Since joining the Club he has become physically bigger and stronger, but he's also grown as a person and is much more confident. I think that is definitely having a positive effect on his football.

"He is looking for the ball more now, having a bigger influence on games and showed against Norwich the tremendous ability he has.

"I knew him from my time at Reading, when he was a quiet boy, but he's coming out of his shell more now. He's certainly called me a couple of things that have surprised me recently!"

Touted as a future England international when he broke into the Manchester United first-team aged just 19, Luke suffered the disappointment of seeing his career stall at Old Trafford. But Pards is quick to praise the tremendous work ethic that is now bearing fruit for Chadwick.

"Chadie works really hard," exclaimed Pards. "After his grounding at Manchester United he knows what it takes to be a top player and after the disappointment of not breaking into the Manchester United set-up as a youngster he has really started to make progress here.

"Luke had to deal with a lot of pressure when he first broke into the Manchester United set-up. That kind of hype makes it even more disappointing when things don't work out, but he has dealt with that very well and showed tremendous determination to do well for this Club.

"He's a very level-headed lad, and he's got the potential to be a very good player for West Ham United."

Pleased to earn the plaudits for his display against Norwich, Luke, however, was quick to stress the importance of using last weekend's win as a platform for League success.

"We really deserved the win against Norwich and hopefully it will stand us in good stead for Wolves.

"Beating a Premiership side has lifted our confidence and it's important that we use that to our advantage in the League, where we really need to an unbeaten run to move us up the table."

The former Manchester United starlet will come up against another Old Trafford favourite of yesteryear on Saturday - the infamous Paul Ince. Despite being a starry-eyed youngster in Paul's Old Trafford heyday, he admits that Ince is a great player who could be dangerous against his old Club.

"I know all about the problems he caused moving from here to Manchester United," said Luke, "but I've never spoken to him about it.

All I know is that he's a marvellous player and we'll have to watch out for him on Saturday."