Hammers toil in bid for striker

West Ham boss Alan Pardew is resigned to starting the Barclays Premiership season this weekend with the strikers who earned the club promotion via the play-offs.

Despite Pardew’s efforts to bolster his attack, Bobby Zamora and Teddy Sheringham look certain to share the responsibilities alongside Marlon Harewood against Blackburn at Upton Park on Saturday.

The Hammers failed with bids – both understood to be £6m (€8.7m) – for Liverpool’s Milan Baros and Monaco’s Togo marksman Emmanuel Adebayor, and Pardew does not want to sign a player unless they can establish themselves in the first team.

He said: “Some people think we are being a bit ambitious but we have top quality strikers already and it is no good getting in players who are not as good as them.

“To be honest these three deserve to start the season for us. They all did a terrific job last season and I’m sure they are ready to do it again.

“You would like four top strikers and I’m still aiming for that. Before the start of the season it is a bit tight but by the end of the month is a good chance.”

Pardew has been linked with a move for ex-Hammers striker Fredi Kanoute, although any possible transfer would require Tottenham to find a replacement before considering selling.

This could give Zamora a chance to press his claims. The Essex-born West Ham fan had been jeered earlier in the season but won over supporters in the play-offs, scoring twice against Ipswich and then the winner in the final against Preston.

His play-off strikes brought his tally for the season to 13 in 20 starts but the 24-year-old, who came to Upton Park as the makeweight in the deal to take Jermain Defoe to Tottenham, is prepared to compete for a regular place.

“I knew I would be fighting for my place as soon as we had won that play-off game at Cardiff,” he said.

“The gaffer has got to pick the right team every week and I didn’t get many starts last season because Teddy and Marlon were doing so well but it is a clean slate this season.

“Everybody has something to prove, including myself, but I’ve shown I can do it when the crunch games come along. If he (Pardew) brings more people in I’ll still just do my best and try to show what I can do even though I thought I’d done that at Cardiff.

“I’m better for my experience at Tottenham even though it wasn’t too long but it is more for me to bring to the learning curve here.”

Pardew has signed Cardiff defenders James Collins and Danny Gabbidon, while centre-backs Elliott Ward and Anton Ferdinand have signed contract extensions.

Czech striker Petr Mikolanda could also sign after impressing on trial during the pre-season campaign, scoring two goals on Hammers’ tour of Sweden and another in the 2-2 draw at Yeovil.