Matthew Upson believes that Carlos Tevez will receive a good reception on his return to Upton Park.
Upson ready to lock horns with former team-mate
Matthew Upson believes that Carlos Tevez will receive a good reception on his return to Upton Park.
The Manchester United striker returns to West Ham for the first time since his summer move to Old Trafford on Saturday, and after his exploits for the Hammers last season he should expect to be welcomed back with open arms.
The Argentinian almost single-handedly kept West Ham in the Premier League last season when his seven goals in the last 10 games ensured their safety and made him an Upton Park legend.
Upson says that whilst Tevez will be warmly welcomed back by the supporters he does not intend to go quite so easy on his former team-mate.
Impact
"He really did single-handedly turn things around last season," the England defender told
the Sun.
"His performances made such an impact because he had come from not performing at all. That is quite rare.
"Carlos will get a fantastic reception. All our fans respect him for what he did and he will be welcomed back for the rest of his life, to be honest.
"I don't intend to be quite so generous as the fans and, after looking at him close up last season, I know just how tough he will be to play against."
Settled
Upson also admits that he has been surprised at how quickly Tevez has adapted to life in England since his arrival from Corinthians in August 2006.
"It was difficult to tell how good Carlos would be in the Premier League," he said.
"You have to give it a year to 18 months to find out if foreign players are really going to crack it.
"It's such a different league to anywhere else in the world. If you asked me when I first saw him whether I thought he would go on to play for Manchester United and do so well, I would have to be honest and say 'no'.
Clever
"I think a lot of people would have said that. But when you have given him a good 12 to 18 months to see if he really can handle the Premier League, clearly he can. Carlos is a different kind of proposition to what you normally play against.
"He will be dropping short, performing clever tricks on the ball, turning, running at people, committing people.
"You can learn things from playing alongside him and against him in training. You get to see the way he plays.
"You have just got to be clever. Know when to get tight and when to drop off. You don't want to give him too much space because, if you give players like him space, they can win the game."
