Alan Pardew says Sunderland’s electric home crowd can drive survival after winning against West Ham at the Stadium of Light
Alan Pardew has described Sunderland’s 3-0 win over West Ham United as one of those “electric nights” that only certain stadiums can generate – and backed the Black Cats to use their home atmosphere to their advantage in the Premier League.
Speaking after the game, the ex-West Ham and Newcastle United manager admitted the Stadium of Light was always a daunting prospect for visiting teams. “You know, Sunderland, that was always, if someone said to me, which fixture wouldn’t you like to manage at the weekend?
Pardew continued on talkSPORT following the game: “It would have been Sunderland away, right? Because the first game back in the Premier League, that stadium, I don’t know if you hear any sort of commentary from it or see it on the TV. It’s alive, that stadium. It was always going to be, for me, a very, very difficult assignment. And so it turned out. But I’m pretty confident and I’m hoping that Potts gets that right over there.”
Pardew compared the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light to some of the most famous grounds in British football – insisting that Sunderland must harness it if they are to stay up this season. “You know, we were talking before, right? And your new stadium, how many nights have you had there so far that have been absolutely electric? Three, four, you know, it’s hard, isn’t it? You don’t get many nights.
“And that was one of those yesterday. That was one of those electric, I could tell. And when you get a stadium like that in Sunderland, very much like Newcastle can be. All stadiums have their sort of times. Some stadiums have it more often than not. Anfield. Anfield, Celtic, you know, that sort of passion, you know, that comes from the stands.”
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The 64-year-old, who managed in the Premier League for over a decade, says Sunderland’s fans and home form will be crucial in their bid to survive. “That is something that Sunderland need to feed on and need to use to their advantage to stay in the Premier League very much. Them three points is a big win for them. And they’ve only got nine to go. Remember my stats at the start of the season: 10 wins, stay in the Premier League. So they’ve got one, got nine to go.”
What did Régis Le Bris say after Sunderland vs West Ham?
Head coach Régis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s players after their 3-0 victory over West Ham United but warned that humility and togetherness must remain central to their Premier League campaign.
The Black Cats returned to the top flight in style on Saturday, with second-half goals from Eliezer Mayenda, Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor sealing their first Premier League win in over eight years.
Le Bris was delighted with the way his players responded to half-time instructions after a challenging first half and praised their ability to execute the gameplan. He also revealed that captain Granit Xhaka addressed the squad post-match to stress the importance of staying united.
“I'm happy for the fans and the players and the club,” Le Bris said. “We had different phases of pre-season and we spoke about the layers we needed to add. It was obvious that it starts from the foundations – we showed that the team is working well.
He added: “They were hard to beat in a mid to low block. The first half was a bit more difficult but during the second half we felt we could get opportunities through regains in the middle and that we could score through counter attacks.
“We didn't change many important things at half time. We spoke a bit about their goalkeeper restarts and our high press, we went for man for man and they found two or three opportunities with long balls. So it was really important to be strong in duels. We made just two or three little decisions, and it made a difference.”
Le Bris was also keen to highlight that Sunderland’s three goals came from players who were already at the club last season, despite a summer of heavy recruitment. “It's really important for two reasons, they showed they can step up [first and foremost],” he said.
“We'll see later, but today it was the case. And it's really important because they keep the identity of the club and the way we worked last season. We built this strength about togetherness, the way we work as a team. The players worked well as a team and they showed that again today.”
The Frenchman added that while the opening-day victory was a proud moment for everyone connected to the club, Sunderland would remain focused on the long campaign ahead.
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