Sam Allardyce on cardiff

Thursday 15th August 2013.

" Sam Allardyce on Cardiff City. "

With the big Barclays Premier League kick-off now imminent, Sam Allardyce spoke of the significance of ensuring West Ham United get off to a flier on Saturday against Cardiff City, just as they did last season.
That said, Big Sam is not expecting an easy ride against Malky Mackay's newly-promoted Bluebirds, insisting that his players will need to be at their very best from the first whistle to come through it unscathed.


What about Cardiff - you opened the season against them a couple of years ago...

SA: "A last minute 1-0, on a Sunday if I remember correctly. I think that this time round Malky gone and invested in his team and they will come all guns blazing. Like every other team that gets promoted, particularly the team who win the league, the enthusiasm carries over into the early part of the Premier League season. Sometimes it then catches up with them.

"From Malky's point of view it's going to be a really tough game, so complacency is certainly not what we're after. The perception outside of Cardiff and West Ham fans is that we're going to turn up on Saturday and win easily. My message to the lads is that there's no easy game in the Premier League and if we don't hit the ground running and hit our top form, this will be a very difficult game for us.

"The last thing you want is to start your season playing at home and to lose it. Because then you've got to go to Newcastle United away from home and try to get a result. So straight away pressure would come on you to get points and you don't really want that. So Saturday's the most important game of the season, obviously."


Considering Cardiff's position, having won the Championship quite comfortably, do you think their being an unknown quantity could work in their favour?

SA: "If you've never played in the Premier League before, to a certain degree the excitement, enthusiasm and determination you show can stand you in good stead, But realistically, you've got to have your manager organising your team and your tactics because otherwise you end up getting found out.

"Malky's, for me, got Cardiff organised and structured from the very first day he went in. The players seem to know their responsibilities in the positions that they play. So that organisation, as well as the investment they've made will stand them in good stead. They'll be difficult to beat and to break down. They've got experienced players, particularly Peter Whittingham and Craig Bellamy and people like that, who have played in the Premier League and we'll have to watch out for.

"He'll find out a lot about his team in the first four or five games, but hopefully he'll be disappointed when he goes home on Saturday."

Any team news ahead of Saturday?

SA: "There's no injury news from our team at the moment. It's the first time in my management career that I've gone through a pre-season without a single injury. We've had knocks, but no player has had to miss a game because of injury throughout the entire summer, so I hope that continues all the way through to next May!"

Isn't Carroll injured?

Isn't Carroll injured?

Possible mind games.

Isn't Carroll injured?

He must be or he surely would have been in the England squad

Isn't Carroll injured?

Possible mind games.

This is the Premier League - We are now entering the land of Mind Games