HAMMERS will be hoping to take some sweet revenge on Sheffield
United in the FA Cup Fourth Round this weekend.
After the Blades' 2-0 Championship win at Upton Park recently,
Alan Pardew's squad are sure to be in competitive mood when
Neil Warnock's team visit tomorrow as they look to claim the
scalp of one of the FA Cup's trickiest opponents.
"The Cup is a one off game and will bring a different kind of
atmosphere, which players look forward to," explained Alan
Pardew.
"It's a change from the League programme, but no one will
be taking this competition likely, as the players proved with the
tremendous effort they put in to beat Norwich City in the last
round.
"The Club needs a win right now and we're determined to
get a good result on Saturday. The League is our main concern, and
we really need to get it right before we go back to Championship
duty next weekend against Cardiff.
"The FA Cup is a great chance for us to find our form again
and also gain a bit of revenge over Sheffield United. We played
poorly when they came here in the League, but it'll be a
different story on Saturday. Everyone is looking forward to the
game and it should be a great Cup-tie."
Neil Warnock's Sheffield United are a notoriously difficult
team to beat in Cup competitions, as their victims in the last
round, Aston Villa, will testify. The Blades also have an enviable
record away from home this season, and Pards knows his team will
have to fight for everything at Upton Park tomorrow.
"Sheffield United have one of the best defensive records
around," he said, "and away from home they can be very
difficult to break down.
"In the last game, although we didn't perform, I think a
lot of credit has to go to the way they played. Neil Warnock said
it was one of the best performances of his managerial career, and
they made it really tough for us to play.
"But it won't be like that again. We're expecting them
to come with a similar game plan and we'll be more armed this
time to go out and cause them the problems that we didn't
manage to do in the last game.
"Neil Warncok has a very good record in the Cups and he has a
very good side at Sheffield United, with perhaps more ability than
they're given credit for.
"But we were really disappointed with the way we performed
against them last time and that is a big motivating factor for us.
He want to give our fans something to cheer about on Saturday, pay
them back for a couple of bad results recently and start to find
our rhythm again."
Pards admits that the team have found their high notes difficult to
hit at Upton Park of late, with a lack of confidence perhaps
afflicting his team in front of their home crowds. That is why the
Hammers boss has called for his players to give big performances
and prove their quality in front of the Upton Park faifthful.
"There's been an edginess to our football, especially at
home," he confessed, "and that's something we're
looking to banish this weekend.
"It's given us a problem at the back, which were
highlighted against Derby when we gave away two sloppy goals. That
won't be happening again.
"The defending is something we've been working on in
training this week. We've got experienced defenders in the side
like Tomas Repka, Malky Mackay and Chris Powell and we
shouldn't be giving away soft goals with those kind of players
in our team.
"Hopefully, we've sorted out any technical issues, the
players will go into the game confident of their ability to defend
solidly and that tension in our play will be released."
Teddy Sheringham looks set to be recalled to the startling line-up
after an absence of five games with an ankle injury. Pards admits
the experience of the former England striker will help to settle
any Upton Park nerves.
"Teddy's presence is very important to this young
team," he said. "He is a quality player and we've
missed his intelligence and assurance on the ball in recent
matches.
"He'll have an important role to play tomorrow and
it'll be good to have him back.
"A win in the FA Cup will really help to lift the Club, but we
need the fans on our side. We all want the same thing - success for
West Ham United - and with everyone pulling in the same direction
I'm sure we have the ability to achieve that."
Pards Plots Revenge On Blades
28th January 2005