West Ham have been given a fairly clear indication of what to expect from Preston North End when the two sides meet after the international break. Preston manager Graham Alexander has been explaining the aggressive pressing approach that helped his team beat Southampton, and it’s something Scott Parker will undoubtedly need to consider.
Speaking to the Lancashire Evening Post following the victory, Alexander said: “We pressed everything.” Preston outshot Southampton 12-3 in the first half, and their manager intends to use the break to reinforce that approach.
Without wishing to belittle Preston’s performance against Southampton, I have to say West Ham are in big trouble if we can’t beat them, irrespective of what their press might be. We can analyse the opposition’s tactics until we’re blue in the face, but ultimately West Ham should have enough quality to overcome Preston.
Scott Parker Has Time To Prepare West Ham
Parker has two weeks on the training ground to drill his players, and I would expect that time to be significant. He’s barely had an opportunity to work properly with the squad since replacing Nuno Espírito Santo, something that was evident during the defeat at Blackburn Rovers.
Parker has a philosophy of wanting to keep the ball, so I suspect he’ll want West Ham to play their way through Preston’s press rather than simply bypassing it with long balls. Of course, that requires players who are comfortable receiving possession under pressure and know where their next pass is going.
I also believe we’ll see a specialist defensive midfielder, such as Soungoutou Magassa, used more often than not for the remainder of the season. Parker has already shown a willingness to use Magassa, and having somebody in that position could prove particularly important when opponents attempt to press West Ham high up the pitch.
Preston’s victory over Southampton was a decent result, but it doesn’t suddenly make them an opponent West Ham should fear. Quite frankly, if the Hammers can’t beat the likes of Preston in our own backyard we don’t deserve to get promoted.
Parker has been given a valuable fortnight to work on his methods, and the expectation has to be that we return from the international break looking considerably better organised.
Whether Preston press high, sit deep or alternate between the two, West Ham need to be capable of dealing with it. That’s the challenge facing Parker, and I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation.