Time not on Roeder's side

Ken Dyer13 April 2012

He wouldn't admit it publicly, but one man who may not have been too upset to have seen West Ham's Premiership clash against Leeds called off tomorrow is Glenn Roeder.

The reality is that the club's new grandstand has been granted a safety certificate and the match definitely goes ahead.

However, had it been postponed it would have given the West Ham manager two weeks' welcome breathing space before the next fixture, time to get striker Frederic Kanoute fit and time to find three new players.

Not that Roeder is complaining. You play the cards with which you are dealt in this game and his team's performance against Liverpool on the opening day gave him plenty of encouragement but no points.

Tomorrow there will be parts of Upton Park which will still resemble a building site but Roeder, in his temporary shelter on the touchline, is hoping his team will ignore all potential distractions against a Leeds side who, he says, have started more impressively than any of the other Premiership title contenders.

The new dressing rooms, with crossed Hammers embossed on the wall tiles, are all but complete and Roeder said: "I don't see there being any problem.

"The pitch is the same size, until we widen it and move it in a few weeks' time, so I wouldn't dream of using the building as a possible excuse and I wouldn't tolerate it off the players either.

"We have to be focused on the job in hand. We can't be worrying that the stand isn't quite complete or that it's further away from the pitch than we are used to."

Roeder, who watched Leeds beat Arsenal in a spiky affair on Tuesday, said: "It was a real fiery encounter, played at an incredible pace. The game at the top level seems to be getting quicker but both sides managed still to provide some very exciting football despite the pace.

"Of the five so-called top teams in the country, they have probably started best of all. They went to Highbury on Tuesday and set the standard for the season."

So how can West Ham, with such a paperthin squad and with their only summer signing- - goalkeeper David James - out for three months, compete with Leeds and the other top teams this season?

"With difficulty," admitted Roeder, "but we have to be organised and competitive.

"I thought Leeds were biting at every opportunity, winning the ball and playing it up to Viduka as quickly as they could. They played a brand of football that, in time, I hope we can emulate."

Roeder is realistic enough to know that he wasn't the preferred choice of many West Ham fans, but he said: "That's not a problem. I just hope that, because of the effort of the team, they will get behind us tomorrow. We need that support.

"That really is important. The supporters have a pretty good idea of the problems during the close season but if they see the sweat on our shirts and see we are doing everything we can to compete, then I hope they will respond and stay with the team."

It remains a concern to Roeder that he hasn't been able to add to the squad. "I want to sign three players with the same sort of standing in the game as David James," said the West Ham manager.

"I'm still hopeful that, before we meet Derby in three weeks' time, I will have those three players to go straight in the team. I'm not interested in them being squad players, I want players good enough to step straight in there."

The biggest void in West Ham's team was caused by last season's departure of £18 million defender Rio Ferdinand, who returns to Upton Park with Leeds tomorrow.

Roeder said: "The fans here have a great affection for him, which is understandable, but he will understand if I don't wish him the best of luck before the game."

West Ham United v Leeds United
3pm, tomorrow, Upton Park

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