Alan Pardew paid tribute to both his players and the Upton
Park crowd after Wednesday night's memorable FA Cup fifth round
replay triumph against Bolton Wanderers.
The Hammers boss was full of pride after seeing Marlon Harewood's extra-time strike set up a quarter-final clash at Manchester City and, despite the Boleyn Ground attendance being 10,000 short of capacity, praised the electric atmosphere inside the stadium.
"The main thing tonight for us was the result," he said. "We did our best to make sure the crowd was behind us - and they were. We were all determined to reach the quarter-finals, and I thought both the players and fans produced a fantastic effort.
"It wouldn't have sat well with me or my team if we'd ended up with not a single victory from five games against Bolton this season and it was important that we got the result.
"I didn't think we passed the ball particularly well tonight and we just lacked that bit of composure that we have shown so often this season. We could have hurt them a bit more, but you have to pay tribute to Bolton
"Both teams played with a great spirit, it was a nice contrast in styles and I thought it was a terrific cup tie. We knew we would be energised tonight and have the backing of the fans, and that combination was probably enough to swing it for us."
The Hammers boss was full of pride after seeing Marlon Harewood's extra-time strike set up a quarter-final clash at Manchester City and, despite the Boleyn Ground attendance being 10,000 short of capacity, praised the electric atmosphere inside the stadium.
"The main thing tonight for us was the result," he said. "We did our best to make sure the crowd was behind us - and they were. We were all determined to reach the quarter-finals, and I thought both the players and fans produced a fantastic effort.
"It wouldn't have sat well with me or my team if we'd ended up with not a single victory from five games against Bolton this season and it was important that we got the result.
"I didn't think we passed the ball particularly well tonight and we just lacked that bit of composure that we have shown so often this season. We could have hurt them a bit more, but you have to pay tribute to Bolton
"Both teams played with a great spirit, it was a nice contrast in styles and I thought it was a terrific cup tie. We knew we would be energised tonight and have the backing of the fans, and that combination was probably enough to swing it for us."