Pardew denies Argentine disruption (23 Sep 2006 19:25 GMT)
West Ham manager Alan Pardew denied on Friday that the arrival of Argentina stars Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez has upset the running of his team.
"I don't think it's fair to us or to Mascherano and Tevez to suggest they've disrupted the team," he said. "We had a good squad and now we've gained two extra quality players. We can't complain about that - it's absolutely brilliant. The adjustment in them finding their feet in the Premiership is the balance we have to get right."
Pardew believes that the pair is adjusting to the English league and will improve as time goes on.
"The last two weeks have been important because they've given Tevez and Mascherano the opportunity to see what we're about and what we need to do to win games," he opined. "They're becoming more and more ingrained into the little intricacies that I like in my team."
The man who took West Ham into the top flight two seasons ago and then won the club a place in Europe for the first time in six years is realistic about the effect they will have had upon the players who took the club to its present position.
"Absolutely, them coming has put one or two noses out of joint," he added. "That happens at every big club and that is hopefully where we are going. The situation will only get worse in terms of players feeling aggrieved they're not playing. All they can do is work hard on the training ground and convince me with their performances that they should be playing. My situation is that these two guys are part of my squad for four years - that's the contract they have signed."
source : Eurosport