Tottenham Hotspur may now be feeling sicker than they
did before kick-off, after missing out on a coveted Champions
League spot, but it is a different story in the Hammers'
camp.
For an inventive and industrious victory over Martin Jol's
weakened White Hart Lane outfit saw Alan Pardew emerge with a clean
bill of health ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final in Cardiff.
And the West Ham manager can now look forward to the Millennium
Stadium showdown against Liverpool with a few more selection
options than he has had in recent weeks.
"Thank God we've got no injuries," smiled Pards after
seeing goals from Carl Fletcher and Yossi Benayoun secure a 2-1
victory and a ninth-place Premiership finish.
"I firmly believed that we couldn't go into this match
with a makeshift side, hoping that it's going to happen for us
in the FA Cup final itself.
"We needed to take something positive into the final and we
were absolutely superb today. Even if Tottenham hadn't have
been under the weather, I still think that they would've had
difficulties because we were in good shape.
"We owed it to everyone in the league to be at our best and we
were great today. In fact, both sides were a credit to the Premier
League.
"You have to give credit to Spurs because they were not at
full strength or ability and you could see that one or two were
struggling. It was their biggest day of the season but it was
difficult for them and, unfortunately, the Champions League place
went against them.
"Around lunchtime I had a couple of calls to get my opinion on
things and now there will be the usual conspiracy theories flying
around.
"Foul play? We've been accused of a few things this season
but you certainly can't pin that on my players or staff!"
joked Pards, who was clearly relieved that the game went ahead,
despite Jol's unsuccessful attempt to enforce a 24-hour
postponement as a result of the food poisoning bug that had
decimated his squad.
"I didn't want to see the game cancelled and my big
worry was having to play Spurs in midweek ahead of the final. That
certainly would have wrecked our preparations.
"In the end, I didn't have any say in matters - that was
down to the Premier League, Spurs and the Police - and we just sat
and waited to hear whether the match was on.
"It was difficult for Spurs, who had their problems, but we
had to put that to one side, play our game and focus on our own
energy levels and what we are about.
"I reminded the players that no-one could have any seed of
doubt about pulling out of any tackles because they'd get hurt.
"We were totally committed and I've now got great
performances from Shaun Newton, Bobby Zamora, Carl Fletcher and
Teddy Sheringham to fall back on."