Sighs all round as Hammers start slow

14 April 2012

Alan Pardew has made it clear he will not be influenced by corporate wheeler-dealing or boardroom pressure when it comes to pinning his team sheet to the dressing room wall at Upton Park.

Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were named among West Ham's substitutes because Pardew wanted to keep faith with the team that narrowly lost 2-1 at Liverpool a fortnight earlier.

"I'm not going to lose faith with the guys who've got us here," the Hammers manager said. "I made a football decision. The guys who played at Liverpool did a fantastic job for me.

"The Argentines are the cream on top of the cake and, hopefully, they can help take us forward to the next level. I think they're both going to be successful with us. They've already done enough in training to impress the staff."

A crowd of 34,576 turned up in the hope of seeing the two World Cup players make significant contributions to a West Ham victory over Martin O'Neill's resurgent Aston Villa, but it work out quite according to plan and there was a huge sense of anticlimax in the ground.

"The crowd were fantastic because I'm sure some of them were disappointed not to see the two new boys in the starting line-up," Pardew said.

"We looked a bit sluggish and apprehensive. I told them at half time that we had to move the ball quicker and be a bit brighter."

Pardew must have been concerned by West Ham's loss of concentration in defence. This was apparent from as early as the fourth minute when they failed to clear a corner from Gareth Barry, presenting former West Ham junior Liam Ridgewell with the opening goal.

Villa dominated the remainder of the first half, with Juan Pablo Angel planting two headers against the bar and Roy Carroll saving from Gabriel Agbonlahor, with only a Marlon Harewood chance giving the home side anything to get excited about.

West Ham were far more positive at the start of the second half, and got their reward on 51 minutes when Bobby Zamora diverted a Paul Konchesky header into the goal.

At least Tevez had 30 minutes on the pitch, demonstrating glimpses of the talent Pardew has at his disposal. "We need to see what he's best at,î he said. "But first he needs to work hard to get up to speed."

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