Alan Pardew and Steve Tilson have their say after tonight's Carling Cup match...
Steve Tilson - Southend United"It's frustrating. We're creating chances and we're getting balls into the box but we're probably not gambling as much as I'd like to. You need a bit of luck to kick-start the confidence of the forwards as well.
"I feel it was a good performance and I'm disappointed that we've come away losing 2-0 - I think that was a bit harsh. we can hold our heads up high. The desire and commitment from my players were second to none and with a little bit of luck we could have taken it into extra time but that's football!
"West Ham? they've done the job. They've won 2-0. I came to watch them against Wigan and the fans were on their back but at the end of the day I thought Wigan were a really good side. West Ham are up there. They are a big side in their division and they had a few players out tonight which probably made a difference.
"Even if they'd had their players there I felt we had a chance. I thought if we could keep it tight for 15-20 minutes we might get the crowd on their back. We had a lot of pressure in the second half but it wasn't to be tonight.
"We had great support tonight - obviously we're only down the road and I hope those supporters won't go home too disappointed and hopefully soon we can start to give them something to shout about."
Alan Pardew - West Ham United
"I had three or four making their debut tonight and we won 2-0. Am I happy? Absolutely. There were a lot of positives. Walker in goal showed that he deserved a chance maybe earlier than he got at West Ham and he'll be pushing Stephen for a spot. Trent on his (full) debut did very well. That back four hasn't even trained together. We brought Elliott back from Peterborough to play alongside Tomas & Rufus. It was a little disorganised occasionally but in terms of the game I couldn't ask for any more than they gave me. I got a clean sheet and I'm very very pleased with Elliott.
"In midfield Adam & Nigel worked hard - they would liked to have played better but they did ok. Chris Cohen in only his 4th or 5th game showed the bits of quality that he's got but he'll play better than that and I thought Serge & Marlon did well up front.
"I think these goals for Marlon were important tonight and I can forgive him his selfishness for the second when he could have slipped it through to Chris to score. He was terriffic at Crewe and he's only had one bad game for us this year - against Wigan. Hopefully he's going to secure that place because when Bobby Zamora and Serge are fit they'll be pushing him for that place. There are things that he can do better but he's only young and he's a real handfull. That's why I'm constantly getting phonecalls about him and I'm knocking them back because I'd like to think he's going to have a great season here.
"You should remember that Southend had a side out there some of whom have played a couple of hundred league games. Some of our side haven't even played ten reserve team matches yet. We have an injury crisis at the moment. We had no Hayden Mullins, no Anton Ferdinand, no Matthew Etherington, no Steve Lomas, no Christian Dailly, no Don Hutchison, no Andy Melville and I think any team in our division who can cope with that hasn't done bad.
"The Michael Carrick transfer is now complete so I have a small kitty that will be absolutely essential in terms of who I recruit over the next two weeks because we certainly need to strengthen in one or two areas. Now we're secure with Michael's money we've made one or two enquiries and we're looking - everywhere. The Michael thing has been hanging over our heads - we haven't been able to play him and we haven't had the money to replace him but now we can strengthen the team and I think we'll be stronger from now on in.
"We have games on Saturday and Monday and I didn't think we could afford to play Teddy tonight and in both of those games - I think that that would be a tall order for him. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't play in both games at the weekend - we'll have to see how he feels. I think his presence on the pitch helped us over the closing period when a few of our younger boys may have been getting a bit stressy - he comes in and adds that little bit of quality which is going to be important for us this season.
"There were some fundamental things that we did wrong in the Wigan match and we managed to put them right very quickly against Crewe.
"As for Saturday, I think Anton, Hayden, Matthew Etherington will all be fit. Steve Lomas plays tomorrow so there's a chance he'll be involved at the weekend. Melville could also be back so we'll be a lot stronger on Saturday for sure.
"Nigel has been given his wings to have a run in the team this year. He ran away from the midfield and for once timed his pass perfectly. That final pass has been the only thing that's let him down when he's played for us so far and if he gets that right there won't be many players who can live with him in our division.
"I would like to say before I go - because nobody's asked me - that Southend were teriffic tonight. They were a credit to the club considering that they haven't had a win yet. They stuck at their task and if things had been different they could have forced extra time. Fair play to them and their staff. "
* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
