Big Sam is still going on about the injury Reid got here and the effect it has had on their season. Seems that Reid may be close to playing again.
"It was about keeping the back four together. We had Winston Reid in
the most consistent form of his life, he ridiculously flies all the way
to New Zealand and gets himself out of that position. Danny Collins has
filled in brilliantly, but it wasn't something we wanted to do.
"Faye and Reid were striking up this partnership together with James
Tomkins sitting in front of them in midfield, because he was a great
replacement for Papa in that position. All the questions you get, the
opinions, was it is because Tomkins is playing in midfield and he is a
centre half and shouldn't be playing there and all that b******* is
flying around.
"What happens is that I look at the performance of every player and
just say 'You are talking b******* because that is not the case'.
Tomkins has done a great job in midfield; as good as Papa Bouba Diop and
as good as any of our midfield in that specific role, because he
[Tomkins] is a talented, talented player.
"In terms of that his restrictions are far greater at centre-half,
you can take fewer chances, but being that one in front, his skills, he
can take the chances that little bit more. He has been magnificent and
has been able to handle that extremely well and is the reason why he has
continued to play there, because he has done so well.
"That is the b******* that is put about, because we had our most
productive time of the season, playing with ten men, with James Tomkins
playing centre midfield role in a two, beating Millwall 2-1, drawing
with Southampton 1-1 and beating Blackpool 4-1."
Further good news was provided by the possible selection options the
manager has ahead of Barnsley, with the returning trio of Reid, Demel
and Diop providing competition for places. Although Joey O'Brien and
Mark Noble could miss the match, the latter's injury is not as bad as
first feared and he should be back sooner than first expected.
"We are still waiting for news on Mark Noble as he came off injured
on Saturday. Joey O'Brien didn't make the game so we are waiting on him
as well. Earlier on in the week we thought George McCartney had broken a
metatarsal but it was only bruising so that's good news.
"We played QPR beyond closed doors on Tuesday and we are thankful to
QPR for that as it gave Winston Reid, Papa Bouba Diop and Guy Demel a
chance to regain some match fitness ahead of the run in.
"They could be available again for the weekend which would be a
useful boost to the squad numbers for what is a very important two games
in the space of four days. The squad will be used to its full extent
with such a short space of time between the games.
"Hopefully on Friday we can continue to do what we have done consistently all season and that's winning away from home."
A win against Barnsley could see the Hammers close the gap to
second-placed Reading to one point and while there is a chance to still
go up automatically, Big Sam said everyone at the club must remain
focused on promotion with the chance that either the Royals or
Southampton slip up.
"It's unlikely that ourselves that Reading, Southampton and ourselves
will all win the next six as Reading and Southampton still have to play
each other! In terms of what we've got to achieve, there's nothing more
important than trying to win the next game.
"We need to focus on Barnsley and me picking the best team to try and
beat Barnsley on the way they play and the squad they've got. However
if we win, it may be necessary to make one or two changes."
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