Hammers told to aim for World Cup

Alan Pardew has challenged Matthew Etherington and West Ham’s clutch of rising stars to aim for a place in England’s World Cup squad.

England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, who this week revealed three places in his World Cup squad remain up for grabs, will be at Upton Park tomorrow for West Ham’s Barclays Premiership clash with Newcastle – and Pardew has marked his card.