Some West Ham United supporters believe that the club should change their anthem if they are ever going to enjoy a period of sustained success. Their argument is that constantly singing about bubbles nearly reaching the sky and then fading and dying at the crucial moment is asking for trouble and it is true that West Ham have an unfortunate habit of crashing back down to earth just when it seems that they are heading in the right direction.
Maybe that explains why Sam Allardyce is not getting too carried away about his side’s brilliant start to the season. West Ham’s victory over Manchester City last weekend kept them in fourth place and, having been widely expected to struggle in the bottom half this season, there is a growing feeling that they can challenge for Europe.
Alex Song, outstanding since his loan move from Barcelona in the summer, has even said that West Ham can become one of the biggest clubs in the country in the next five years. Allardyce smiled when he heard about that. “I hope he’s going to be here in five years’ time,” he says. “Does that mean he’s going to sign for us? I hope so.”
Allardyce is too experienced to start thinking about Europe yet. He admits that West Ham’s performances have taken him by surprise and he is delighted with how his new players have settled, yet he also knows that Stoke City will relish trying to take them down a peg or two at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday afternoon. West Ham’s preparations have not been ideal.
Diafra Sakho, who has scored seven goals since his arrival from Metz, is a doubt with a shoulder injury and he will be assessed on Saturday morning.
“The big danger for us at Stoke is the hype surrounding us beating Manchester City cannot have a negative effect on us and we don’t go out and produce the same level again – otherwise Stoke will beat us,” Allardyce says. “Stoke and Mark Hughes will be looking forward to us coming and thinking: ‘Let’s put these lot to task and see if they can cope after that big result.’”
Allardyce is aware that West Ham’s form has deteriorated in November and December in the past two seasons; they took six points from 11 games during that period last year and nine points from 10 matches in 2012. “We have got to maintain it and our levels of performance,” Allardyce says. “That is my responsibility because we have not been tested like this before and whether we can sustain this success.
“We have had our brief moments. Even last year when we had our darkest moments, we came out of it and won four on the trot and then lost four on the trot. We have got to find that level of sustainability and consistency in our levels of results and performances. They have got to find out and I have got to find out if we are capable of that.”
It is easy to forget that this is only West Ham’s third season back in the Premier League or that there were calls for Allardyce to be sacked a few months ago. Yet the 60-year-old survived the summer, allowing him to continue West Ham’s gradual rebuild.
“I think, as a manager, sustainable progress is what it’s all about,” Allardyce says. “You can be too slow and lose your job and then too quick and falter and then lose your job and if you build slowly and steadily and success is improved year in, year out then you can eventually get to a stage where West Ham becomes like an Everton is at the moment.
“That’s not only sustainability but looking at cup competitions and winning a trophy and getting into Europe and that can happen this season and in the next two or three years, perhaps depending upon the investment and the improvement of the squad as it goes on. So we’ve got to try and keep our feet on the ground. But five years is a long way for me to be looking forward, by the way.”
Allardyce is wary of what too much praise will do to his players’ egos. “It’s not difficult for me but sometimes the players find it a bit difficult,” he says. “I said to the players don’t start reading about yourself too much or else we’ll have to start changing the size of the doors to get their heads through. So keep your feet on the ground and don’t read too much praise about yourself, just like you shouldn’t read too much of the criticism.”
