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."
Chadie's Charm
14th January 2005