Pardew On West Ham Sacking

Today's Independent carries an interview with Alan Pardew in which he discusses his obvious disappointment at being sacked as West Ham manager. The interview doesn't reveal much as to what was going on behind the scenes, although he does hint that, "there were a lot of issues that made it very difficult to manage."

Pardew is at pains to defend Nigel Reo-Coker,

"Nigel (Reo-Coker, the West Ham captain) was looked at. I thought that wasn't right. It was a collective responsibility - the old board, the new board, who came in straight away and said they were going to buy players, which added to the pressure, the players, me",

and clearly feels he is being made a scapegoat by some of the West Ham fans.

However Pardew also takes time to thank the West Ham fans for their reactions to his sacking,

"It has been phenomenal and I've tried to answer all the letters. I really, really appreciate and believe that I took the club from a dire situation to a positive one."