Carlton Cole is delighted that Saturday's match against Bolton Wanderers will be a family affair.
The club has made entry for the Barclays Premier League home opener just a £1 for all children, helping to create a great atmosphere for Cole and his team-mates. The England striker believed such initiatives - and the fantastic £5 for kids, £10 for adults offer for Oxford on Tuesday - were vital for the future of the club.
"It is good to encourage the kids to come along," he said. "We want more coming to matches. We need to encourage them more and this is a great way of doing it. £1 and £5 is not that much you know for kids to come to the games. I think it is quality.
"The kids are the next generation of West Ham fans and we want to keep them keen and wanting to come and watch us play. Obviously we have got to be doing the performances on the pitch for it to be attractive enough to come and watch us.
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"There are a lot of passionate fans and they know about the history, but it is good to get the kids aware of that and have them come and see the match on Saturday. I used to go and watch my local team Brentford. It wasn't that much money back then and we need to help parents be able to bring them."
On the Bolton match, Cole said the result more than performance was what mattered - but he would be striving to deliver both after four goals in six pre-season matches.
"It might be a scruffy match because we need to get the right result that we want. We are at home and I don't care how we win, as long as we get the three points.
"We need all the fans to get behind us. Obviously last week [at Aston Villa] wasn't a good enough showing. It was the first game of the season and there is no need to panic. We are going to set things right."
