Ince not worried by Hammers reception

Paul Ince is more concerned about the performances of his Blackburn players than the reception he is likely to receive ahead of his first visit to West Ham as a manager.

While at Upton Park as a player in 1989, Ince was infamously photographed in a Manchester United kit long before his transfer to Old Trafford was completed.

The issue has been a sore point for the Hammers’ fans ever since and Ince frequently received a hostile reception as a player whenever he faced his former club.

Despite moving into the dugout, Ince is still certain of a frosty welcome from the home faithful when he issues instructions from the technical area in front of the main stand at the Boleyn Ground.

But the Rovers boss will keep his focus on how his side are playing as they bid to continue their positive start to the new Barclays Premier League season.

“It is not that important – I’ve been back numerous times with the teams I’ve played for and taken some stick but it’s not about West Ham and Paul Ince,” he said.

“It’s about my players going there and coming away with a performance and picking up some points.

“They say that fans never forget but I’m a West Ham boy and the club has a place in my heart and always will do.

“That is where it started for me as a player and it is a proud moment to be going back there as a manager.

“I do look out for their results – I was at the club from when I was a kid of nine or 10 and I loved the place. And of course I want them to do well – but hopefully not on Saturday.

“Blackburn’s record at Upton Park is not great but these records are there to be broken.

“If you look at out first game of the season at Everton, only the top four went and won there last season and we went there and won.

“So there is absolutely no reason why we can’t go and do the same against West Ham. It’s going to be hard because at home they are a strong side and play fantastic football. We’re under no illusions about that.

“But we’re playing well and there is no reason why we can’t go there and do well and hopefully come back to Ewood Park with some points in the bag.”

Ince has bolstered his midfield options with the signings of Vince Grella from Torino and Keith Andrews from MK Dons in the last week.

Australian Grella is still awaiting international clearance and will probably not be involved, but Andrews is in the Rovers squad and, with David Dunn likely to miss out with an Achilles injury, he could be involved.

While the current trend in the transfer market is to utilise a network of worldwide scouts, Ince is happy to look down the domestic leagues – having cut his managerial teeth with Macclesfield and MK Dons – and sign a player like Andrews.

“I am pleased I’ve signed Keith – he’s another good acquisition to the squad and he is a very good player if you look at his performances as captain of MK Dons last year,” Ince added.

“He is one of those players we haven’t got who can get into the box and score goals. I don’t care what anyone says, if you score 13 or 14 goals from midfield in League One then you can obviously step up to the Premier League with better players.

“So I am confident he will be very good for us. If you look at someone like Steven Reid, who was at Millwall and rose quickly to play for his country and in the Premier League, so it can happen.

“There are a lot of quality players in the lower leagues and I think sometimes when you are in the top flight and you have so much more money at your disposal, then you tend to look abroad or pick players in the £6million-£7million bracket.

“But sometimes you can just look in the lower leagues and there are just as good players. If you look at Michael Kightly at Wolves, who came from Grays, and there are clubs who would now pay £6million for the lad.

“He’s serious about his football, had a good year last year and I’m confident he can make the step up to the Premier League.”