Pardew thanks Hammer's fans
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West Ham United boss Alan Pardew put on a brave face after today's disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Reading.
West Ham have not won since the opening weekend of the season, have not scored in 488 minutes of football and are yet to keep a clean sheet all campaign.
The Hammers were dumped out of the UEFA Cup in midweek and have now lost five on the bounce.
Any hopes of rectifying that record were dashed by Seol Ki-Hyeon strike after 79 seconds and another catalogue of wasted opportunities in front of goal.
Yossi Benayoun came closest to snatching an equaliser but his last minute effort was cleared off the line by Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell.
Pardew was frustrated but insists he can deal with the pressure.
"We had enough chances today to get three goals but we just can't get it into the net. And it was summed up at the end with a fantastic clearance from Sidwell," said Pardew.
"I can't remember in my managerial career so many chances going astray as there have been in the last few matches.
"My experience tells me that will change and I have had good experience of the pressure of the situation.
"After seeing our performance against Aston Villa, Newcastle, Palermo and then today you would expect a West Ham crowd to give you a really hard time.
"They understand we are trying to get ourselves going, they can see the potential in the squad which at the moment is unrealised.
"It is great for me (to hear the crowd chanting my name) because this is a lonely old horrible job at times, especially when you get results like that and I thank them for that.
"The guys are so disappointed. There are question marks about our spirit and what we are about and we answered that with our performance.
"But the result puts us in a bad position in the league and you don't want to be fighting at the start of the season."
Pardew and Royals boss Steve Coppell go back a long way, to the successful Crystal Palace side of the early 1990s.
Coppell backed Pardew to pull West Ham out of their slump.
"Of course I have sympathy for him. He is a top manager and he will sort any issues out," he said.
West Ham have not won since the opening weekend of the season, have not scored in 488 minutes of football and are yet to keep a clean sheet all campaign.
The Hammers were dumped out of the UEFA Cup in midweek and have now lost five on the bounce.
Any hopes of rectifying that record were dashed by Seol Ki-Hyeon strike after 79 seconds and another catalogue of wasted opportunities in front of goal.
Yossi Benayoun came closest to snatching an equaliser but his last minute effort was cleared off the line by Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell.
Pardew was frustrated but insists he can deal with the pressure.
"We had enough chances today to get three goals but we just can't get it into the net. And it was summed up at the end with a fantastic clearance from Sidwell," said Pardew.
"I can't remember in my managerial career so many chances going astray as there have been in the last few matches.
"My experience tells me that will change and I have had good experience of the pressure of the situation.
"After seeing our performance against Aston Villa, Newcastle, Palermo and then today you would expect a West Ham crowd to give you a really hard time.
"They understand we are trying to get ourselves going, they can see the potential in the squad which at the moment is unrealised.
"It is great for me (to hear the crowd chanting my name) because this is a lonely old horrible job at times, especially when you get results like that and I thank them for that.
"The guys are so disappointed. There are question marks about our spirit and what we are about and we answered that with our performance.
"But the result puts us in a bad position in the league and you don't want to be fighting at the start of the season."
Pardew and Royals boss Steve Coppell go back a long way, to the successful Crystal Palace side of the early 1990s.
Coppell backed Pardew to pull West Ham out of their slump.
"Of course I have sympathy for him. He is a top manager and he will sort any issues out," he said.
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