Pardew draws boxing analogy

Alan Pardew has built a reputation for boxing clever during his first season as a top-flight manager – and tonight he will prime West Ham to deliver one of the great FA Cup knock-out blows.

The Hammers head to the Millennium Stadium as underdogs against a more experienced Liverpool side, but that has not stopped Pardew believing his men can floor the outgoing European champions.

It is West Ham’s first FA Cup final since 1980, when as a second division side they stunned Arsenal with a rare headed goal from Trevor Brooking.

Pardew also draws inspiration from the boxing ring and, in particular, Thomas ’Hitman’ Hearns’ stunning 1984 victory over Roberto Duran.

In the same way as Hearns famously won the bout with a devastating one-punch knock-out in the second round, so Pardew is convinced West Ham have the armoury to send Liverpool reeling.

Pardew said: “After watching the Oscar de la Hoya fight last week I was thinking about boxers – who would we be and who would Liverpool be?

“You could put us down as Thomas Hearns, because we have that power to hit. In boxing if you are a hitter you have got a chance of winning.

“And if Barcelona were Sugar Ray Leonard, then Liverpool would be Roberto Duran. And I think you’ll find that Hearns beat him once!

“We have a hitter’s chance. That is what we are about, that is how we attack teams. We have that big punch with the type of strikers and goals we have scored.”

The Hammers strikeforce will be led tomorrow by Marlon Harewood, the semi-final hero with the physique of a light-heavyweight boxer.

Pardew is also giving record signing Dean Ashton every chance of recovering from a hamstring injury.

Neither Ashton nor left-winger Matthew Etherington, who has an ankle problem, have trained this week but Pardew could give them until cup final morning to prove they are ready.

“We will wait until the 11th hour to make a decision on both players because they’ve deserved that for their performances,” said Pardew.

“We could wait until tomorrow morning but we have to look at why we are waiting. Are we waiting for them to recover, or as a precaution?

“If I feel we are still waiting for them to recover then the likelihood is they won’t play.”

But disappointing as that would be, it would not rock the boat too greatly.

Bobby Zamora is in prime form and can partner Harewood up front, while Yossi Benayoun could start on his preferred left flank and captain Nigel Reo-Coker has been among the goals recently.

West Ham lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the league last month – the game in which Hayden Mullins and Luis Garcia were both sent off – but Reo-Coker had a goal wrongly disallowed for off-side.

“Anyone that was there would say we gave them a run for their money. We’re not daunted at all,” said Zamora.

Pardew, in characteristically meticulous fashion, has been preparing for every eventuality.

He had the Upton Park pitch re-marked to the dimensions of the Millennium Stadium and the grass was cut to the same length.

Pardew has played in an FA Cup final – Crystal Palace’s 1990 defeat to Manchester United – but preparing a side for the event is a vastly different challenge.

“I have to watch out I don’t motivate my team too much. An example we are all aware of is Paul Gascoigne in his first cup final [for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest in 1991] when he was over-zealous and ended up with that horrific knee injury,” said Pardew.

“There is a point where my team has to be motivated but not to level where they will make errors and not be at their best.

“I said to this team three months into the season that they could win a trophy if they stuck together with that same exuberance.

“We are coming up against a technical team that are better than us, with a better defence, with more experience and with international players.

“We thrive a little bit on being the underdogs. If you look at West Ham’s history we have that tradition about us.

“I had a really lovely email sent to me the other day about what West Ham are about – the eternal tryer, never giving in, fighting against the odds.

“Most of our fan-base are from that walk of life. Hopefully the team will represent that.”