Source: Team_Talk
Stoke assistant plays down Grant absence
Stoke assistant Dave Kemp says the Potters will pay little attention to the absence of Avram Grant in Saturday's lunchtime clash with West Ham.[LNB] On Monday the Potters came from behind to beat Aston Villa, with Gerard Houllier back home in France on a prior engagement, and they now take on rock-bottom West Ham, who will not be able to call on Grant.[LNB]The Israeli will be observing Yom Kippur, a key date in the Jewish calendar which involves fasting and prayer over the course of Friday night and Saturday.[LNB]As a result Grant's assistant Zeljko Petrovic will take charge but Kemp, who himself was given a more involved role on Monday after the death of Tony Pulis' mother hours before the game, is focusing on getting his side prepared.[LNB]"West Ham is not my concern. I have to make sure our players are ready and our manager will be ready to go and that is all I'm bothered about it," he said.[LNB]"We can affect what happens at Stoke, I don't know what goes on at West Ham."[LNB]Despite his recent bereavement Pulis, who took his place on the touchline for the second half of the Villa win, has been taking training every day this week and will be in the dug-out at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.[LNB]Kemp said his presence had given the players a lift against Villa but securing their first win of the season after three successive defeats had even more of an effect.[LNB]"It is a very thin line between winning and losing and we managed to get on the right side of that line on Monday and hopefully we will get more wins to take us up the league," he said.[LNB]"It has lifted everyone's confidence and spirits and we can't wait to get out there.[LNB]"Getting a win gives you confidence and you get greedy as you go from none to three points and then you want to get six and that is the nature of the job.[LNB]"But West Ham are in a similar situation to us the other night in that they are looking to get their season up and running.[LNB]"Their performances haven't been as bad as their results but we don't look at the league table, we look at what we are up against and we know it will be a difficult game on Saturday."[LNB]Club-record £8million signing Kenwyne Jones scored the equaliser against Villa, his first since moving from Sunderland in the summer, and Kemp said that had given him a boost after injury problems had hampered him in his previous two appearances.[LNB]"I don't think his confidence was low but when you are an expensive, new centre-forward it is always important to score early and meet people's expectations.[LNB]"He scored a very important goal and he played very well, having played well at Chelsea even though he was not fit."
