WEST HAM v HUDDERSFIELD PEADATOR!
Javier’s like Lineker, Allen and me, says ex-Hammers hot-shot Cottee
TONY COTTEE believes Javier Hernandez has a crucial part to play in West Ham’s season that has already become a battle for survival. Three successive defeats have left the Hammers rooted in the Premier League relegation zone. They have scored only two goals – and both came from ‘Little Pea’ Hernandez in the 3-2 loss at Southampton. And West Ham legend Cottee stressed how important the £16million signing from Bayer Leverkusen is to the team. “His goals will be vital,” said Cottee, scorer of 115 league goals in two spells at West Ham. The club’s first home game of the season comes belatedly against unbeaten Huddersfield tomorrow night because the London Stadium was needed for t h e World At h l e t i c s Championships and is only now ready to stage football. “It seems strange to talk about must-win games so early in the season but West Ham have to get that first victory,” said Cottee. “And they have the right man to get those goals in Hernandez. “He is part of a dying breed – an out-andout predator in front of goal who comes alive in the penalty area. I was like that. So were Clive Allen and Gary Lineker. “He rarely scores from outside the area. That is not his game at all. If you look at his goals at Southampton, one came from a rebound off the goalkeeper and the other when the ball came back off the bar. “That is what he is about. He believes that every time there is a shot, there is a rebound. That is what my dad told me. He said the one time I didn’t follow up, there would be a chance missed.
“Hernandez won’t go on long, 40- yard dribbles. He is lethal in the penalty area. The important thing is that he gets the service.
“Without that, he cannot get the goals West Ham need. I will be interested to see how he links up with Andy Carroll when he is fit. We know how good Carroll is in the air. Hernandez can feed off those knockdowns.”
Cottee is fully aware of the pressure mounting on West Ham after their disastrous start. “They need to get that first win and they need to get it as quickly as possible. There is no doubt there is pressure,” he said.
“Hernandez knows all about pressure so it will be nothing new to him.
“He has played in huge games for Manchester United and for Mexico. He will be able to handle it. But as I said, he has to get the service.
Hernandez can handle all the pressure but he has to get the service to get among the goals
Reshuffle
“Until that first win comes, the pressure mounts on everybody – the players and the manager Slaven Bilic.
“West Ham need to put on a show for the fans. Normally, you really look forward to the first home games of the season but there is some apprehension ahead of this match.”
Bilic is ready to make a significant reshuffle for the visit of Huddersfield.
In will come Winston Reid, Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate for James Collins, Declan Rice and Edimilson Fernandes. Collins and Rice are set to miss out for tactical reasons while Fernandes is injured.
There were hopes that the gifted Manuel Lanzini would be ready for what has become a crucial clash but the Argentinian will be out for another two weeks with a knee injury.