West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hopeful of getting off to a winning start but admits he is apprehensive ahead of the visit of Aston Villa.
Hammers boss not expecting a comfortable return to the top flight
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hopeful of getting off to a winning start but admits he is apprehensive ahead of the visit of Aston Villa.
The Hammers return to the Premier League on Saturday after a one-season absence thanks to Allardyce leading the club back to the top flight at the first attempt.
The experienced boss is confident of three points against Villa at Upton Park but acknowledges it is difficult to judge how prepared his team will be for the Premier League challenge.
And he rejects the notion that the fixture list has been kind on West Ham.
"Everybody thought that Cardiff City at home was a comfortable start last season and we got beat 1-0 in the last minute," he said.
"I don't think there is any kind of comfortable start in the Premier League.
"I think there is a possibility that we can get off to a good start if we give a good performance.
Chance
"What we are looking for is a good performance by our players and that might give us a chance to win the first game here at Upton Park at the start of a new Premier League season.
"I think we all need to be a little apprehensive, certainly myself because it doesn't matter how good or bad I think we are, I won't really know until we play Barclays Premier League games."
The match at the Boleyn Ground will be Paul Lambert's first in charge of Villa since leaving Norwich in the summer and Allardyce is expecting a tough game.
"I am expecting a pretty determined and well organised side," added Allardyce.
"Paul's record in terms of moving into a new club and producing results almost immediately stands there in front of everybody.
"I think that he will get them playing a system that suits the players and playing the best they possibly can play.
"For us it's about making sure we are on top of our game because we're obviously playing a well-established Premier League side.
Experience
"While we have got some players with Premier League experience, it's been a year since we have been there.
"We are looking forward to getting back there and hopefully we can deliver in terms of expectations and, of course, try and win as many games as we can, starting with the first one.
"The first game is as important as the last game, and if you can win the first game it gets everybody off to a nice, pleasant start.
"You try and get three points in the bag and try and move forward.
"It builds the confidence of all the players at a club and it gets rid of any anxiety anybody may have, or at least reduce what they have of 'can they really reproduce in the Premier League and produce performances', as last time we were there we were relegated."
