Daily WHUFC News - 4th March 2013

Manager on Monday
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce has hailed Jack Collison's professionalism after his winner at
Stoke City
03.03.2013

Sam Allardyce heaped praise on matchwinner Jack Collison and the diligent
medical team that work with him on a daily basis, following Saturday's
superb 1-0 win away at Stoke City. Big Sam was understandably delighted with
Collison after his strike just before half-time inflicted only the second
home defeat of Stoke's season and pushed West Ham up to joint-tenth in the
Barclays Premier League. The high-profile nature of the Wales
international's winner is in stark contrast to the careful and often
unpublicised work that he has to go through to manage an ongoing knee issue,
which has affected the 24-year-old's participation in first-team affairs
over the past few years. "It's an unfortunate injury that he has to live
with and he manages it extremely well as a young professional," Allardyce
explained. "It's a great shame when such a young man has to be burdened with
that and he knows the knee is never going to be 100% so the management of
that knee is great credit to him and the medical staff. "He does a lot of
his own training and rarely trains with us. He has to get himself ready and
prepared for a game and then after that he has to have that bit longer to
rest and recover than everybody else. "He can live with it. It is going to
restrict him somewhat but he is a very talented young man. Because of his
professionalism and the fact the medical staff have told him exactly what he
has to do week in, week out he will be able to play the game he loves for as
long as he can even with that restriction."

Big Sam feels that Collison's determination and dedication to the
micro-management of his right knee both before and after the game are the
reason that he is able to still make such meaningful impacts at the highest
level. Last season was a case in point, as the West Ham No10 hit form at
just the right time to play a decisive role in the Hammers' run-in, not
least his two crucial goals in the Play-Off semi-final away leg at Cardiff
City before the promotion-earning Wembley win against Blackpool. Allardyce
added: "He's lived with the situation since I've been here and he made a
massive contribution last year. This season he had a small clean out and we
had to wait for the recovery but he is back now with a bang. "The
professional and highly-qualified medical staff make sure they get the right
prevention and do not let the knee get any worse so it is kept it in a
stable condition. That's a big dedication from him as he has to be
relatively bored most of the time in the week when everybody is training.
"It's important he does his rehab and prehab work and making sure his
muscles are strong enough around the area to help with the condition of the
knee. He has to continue to do that and it's a credit to him that he's able
to."

Collison only entered the fray at the Britannia Stadium as an eleventh-minte
substitute for the injured Matt Taylor and he was set up by fellow early
substitute Ricardo Vaz Te, who came on for the injured Joe Cole, to roll the
ball into the bottom corner on the stroke of half-time. Big Sam revelled in
a rare away win at the Potters and joked about how his inspired
substitutions had made the difference. "The contribution off the bench was
the difference for us. It would be a bit much to claim it was tactical when
we had two players who went off injured - I would claim it was a tactical
masterstroke but it was only about ten minutes in!
"I haven't had too many results there, so when you get one that's as good as
this one we should really appreciate it as it's the timing that is so good.
It was a big, big game for us as we try to deliver results as well as
performances. We delivered a really great performance against Tottenham last
Monday night but didn't get a point and that put extra pressure on us.
"We've relied on our home form a huge amount this year and when you get
beaten by a wonder goal as we were in our last game you've got to come and
try to pick up some points and get yourself back on track. To do it at Stoke
City is a challenge in itself and we mastered that challenge very well and
deserved to get that 1-0 win."

The result will leave the Hammers looking up the table rather than down and
Big Sam feels that just seven more points will mean the Hammers can
confidently start planning for life in the Barclays Premier League next
season. With the Manchester United game that was set for next weekend now
postponed, the West Ham United manager will use the break to ensure his
injured players are restored to full match fitness ahead of a trip to
Chelsea on Sunday 17 March. "It was a great result for us and put us back in
the middle of the pack on 33 points and ever closer to that big 40 that we
all look for. We've now got a couple of weeks to get everybody ready for a
big day at Chelsea. Our defensive quality needed to be in really good order
on Saturday and it was. "We only play twice more in March. It's frustrating
but having said that we went into the game last week with almost a full
squad and then after this one I've now got five injured so the extra week
gives them enough time to recover for a big away game at Chelsea."

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believes Premier League survival will secure him
a new deal
Last Updated: March 3, 2013 7:56pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hoping his side's end-of-season push will
be enough to secure him a new contract at Upton Park. Allardyce, who was
appointed as West Ham manager in the summer of 2011, is out of contract at
the end of the season. The former Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn boss has
reportedly been promised a new deal once the club's survival in the top
flight has been secured. "Staying in the Premier League is everything about
my future - that is all I have had to say over the last few weeks. "It is
where I want to be and where I want to apply my skills because I like the
euphoria, excitement and pressure that it brings. "It is the best league in
the world and the most entertaining, so plying your trade in it is what you
want to do."

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Colli's never gonna be 100%
But Jack still has right old knees-up despite long-term injury
The Sun
By GRAEME BRYCE
Published: 6 hrs ago

SAM ALLARYDYCE admits Jack Collison will never operate at 100 per cent of
his ability - due to the severity his long-term knee injury. That is a
staggering thought considering the flawless performance the midfielder put
in to cut down Stoke. Like Ledley King and Paul McGrath before him,
Collison, 24, has to meticulously manage his training and rest between
games. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the day the Watford-born Welsh
international dislocated his right kneecap at Wigan. Since then, he has been
plagued by setbacks and the regular routine of fluid flooding into his knee,
forcing it to balloon up after every game. Yet you would never have guessed
it as the energetic midfielder bombed from box to box against a Stoke side
who buckled on the stroke of half-time when he slotted in the Hammers'
winner. From the moment Collison replaced a hamstrung Joe Cole on 10
minutes, he seemed hell-bent on making up for the frustration he suffers on
a daily basis. Boss Allardyce said: "His management of it is a great credit
to himself and the medical staff. "He does his own training and very rarely
trains with us. He has to get himself ready for a game. "He has to be bored
most of the time when everyone else is doing their training and he is doing
his rehab work. Afterwards he has to have that extra bit of rest and
recovery to everyone else until the swelling goes down. "He can live with
that and prosper but it is not going to give him the full extent his
ability. It is going to restrict him "It's a great shame when such a young
man has to be burdened with the fact that his knee is never going to be 100
per cent."

Collison has only completed 90 minutes twice this term and Saturday was only
his ninth game of the season, which made his contribution all the more
remarkable. His willingness to plough through the centre of the Potters
midfield and engage the makeshift defensive partnership of Ryan Shawcross
and Marc Wilson, turned the game. Moments before half-time his fellow sub
and sidekick Ricardo Vaz Te's persistence paid off when he retrieved a
blocked pass before setting Collison up with a cute reverse ball. Collison
made the most of the space inside the Potters box and drilled a low shot
beyond Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. Allardyce is hopeful Collison has now
cleared a significant hurdle in the rehabilitation process. He revealed: "In
the early part of this season he had his knee cleaned out. He's had to wait
for his recovery but now he is back. "His contribution today was the
difference in the end."

Collison confessed he was relieved to get 80 minutes under his belt and is
ready to ditch the loneliness of the long-distance midfielder by training
with his pals for a change. He said: "It's up to me to take my chances when
they come. Hopefully the goal will help. Physically, I feel superb and
knee-wise it's the best I've felt for years. "The last few weeks I've been
training most days and working on my fitness and trying to force my way in.
But if you look at our squad it's hard to nail down a regular position
anywhere." But West Ham took a giant leap towards nailing down their Premier
League place. And Collison added: "Chelsea are the only team to have won
here in the past 13 months so hopefully we can look forward, rather than
behind us now."

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