Pards' Munich Mission

HAMMERS boss Alan Pardew is looking forward to leading his team into the Allianz Arena to take on TSV Munich 1860 in a game that will mark 40 years since Hammers beat the German club to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup at Wembley.

That memorable day, two goals from Alan Sealey secured West Ham United's victory and captain Bobby Moore climbed the famous steps up Wembley to lift what remains to date as West Ham United's only major European trophy.

A year earlier the legendary Hammers and England captain had stood in the same spot to celebrate the Club's first FA Cup triumph - a 3-2 win over Preston North End.

A year later he would return to Wembley to lift the World Cup for England in a golden age for English football, and West Ham United in particular.

Fitting then that 40 years on Pards should lead a modern day Hammers team into action against Munich 1860, as his team prepare for their return to top-flight football.

He said: "This is going to be a landmark occasion for both clubs and we are looking forward to an excellent night in Munich.

"I'm very pleased with the way our pre-season preparations are going and hopefully we can continue that progress with another good display in Munich.

"So far the players have looked extremely sharp in training and that has been reflected with some very good performances in our four pre-season matches.

"At this stage of the season the result is sometimes less important to what the team takes out of the game. But it's also encouraging to get good results out of the pre-season friendlies and the performances have given the squad plenty of confidence."

Roy Carroll looks set to start his second game of the pre-season campaign, with Pards hoping to field a strong squad for the game.

"I always thought Roy was going to be an important signing for the Club and that's why we moved to secure his signature so quickly," he said.

"We haven't seen much of Roy yet as we've been trying to bring him up to speed but he will play in Munich so we can have a good look at him.

"Experience is going to be important this season, and in the likes of Christian Dailly and Teddy Sheringham we have players with plenty of it.

"But we also have players that have played in the top league before. Tomas Repka, Matty Etherington, Bobby Zamora and Hayden Mullins have all played at this level, but I suspect all those players will want to do better this time around."

Pards is still to make a decision on the future of Czech striker Petr Mikolanda however, and may take another look at the trialist in Munich.

"We haven't made a decision on the trialists yet," he said, "and I can't comment until I have spoken to the players concerned."