Source: Telegraph
Matthew Etherington no stranger to relegation dogfight
The winger was in the West Ham squad who, inspired by Carlos Tevez, won their last four games to condemn Sheffield United to a controversial demotion two years ago. [LNB]Etherington will never forget the premature celebrations of the Blades fans after the Hammers were beaten 3-0 at Bramall Lane as the season moved towards its climax. [LNB] Related ArticlesGuide to weekend actionPremier League relegation battlePremier League Transfer TalkSidibe blows hot as Stoke City seize controlMatthew Upson aiming to keep West Ham United in the Premier LeagueChris Riggott keeps Middlesbrough up"The reaction after the game told you the Sheffield United players and fans believed that was it," said Etherington. "They thought that was the result to keep them up. [LNB]"At that stage they were five points above us with five games to play. We were beaten by Chelsea four days later, but won every match after that. [LNB]"It was incredible really and just shows it's never over in football until the mathematics say so. [LNB]Etherington was in the West Ham team who beat Blackburn 4-1 last August, but he expects a much tougher contest when Sam Allardyce brings Rovers to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. [LNB]"There is a lot of difference between a free-flowing game at the start of the season and a relegation battle towards the end of it," he said. "I'm sure it will be tight, but I'm confident we can win." [LNB]Blackburn striker El Hadji Diouf and winger Morten Gamst Pedersen return to face Stoke after they missed the defeat at Liverpool with a throat infection and calf injury respectively. [LNB]
