West Ham United Football Club News

• Nickname:Hammers
• Founded:1895
• Manager:Sam Allardyce

• Ground:Upton Park
• Capacity:35,595

Pardew backs duo

24 Sep 2006 - 15:04:47

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West Ham United manager Alan Pardew admitted that Argentinian duo Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were struggling to adapt to the pace of the Premiership after watching his side slump to a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City.

The Hammers have failed to win since the opening day of the season but Pardew is refusing to panic.

"The players are desperate to get their season back on track because we got ourselves off to a great start with a win over Charlton and a good draw at Watford, while we also put in a good performance at Liverpool without getting anything.

"Since Anfield, though, we just haven't been able to get ourselves going again and we need to get back to what we were about last year and show character, pace and energy.

"We've got to move the ball about faster and get up the pitch in greater numbers, too. The squad worked hard this week and, while we showed some of those strengths against a strong, resilient and committed Manchester City side, they just weren't evident enough today.

"You also have to appreciate that Tevez is still trying to pick up the pace of the Premiership. I wanted to use him strategically as a substitute today but, unfortunately, by the time I brought him on, we were already two goals behind and it was too late for him.

"People tend to forget that Tevez and Javier Mascherano are only 22-years-old and they hadn't done any real training this season until they arrived here at West Ham.

"They're both finding the Premiership pace demanding and if you look around, even an experienced, top, top player like Andriy Shevchenko has shown that he needs time to adjust."