Sheringham lead West Ham out of losing streak
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A first half goal from veteran Teddy Sheringham and a second ten minutes from time by Hayden Mullins brought West Hams eight match losing streak to an end.
Blackburn managed a consolation goal deep into injury time but this result eased some of the pressure on a beleaguered Hammers boss.
"It has been a long wait," said a relieved Alan Pardew.
"We did get very, very nervous but it's a great win for this club and the fans and players deserve it.
"I thought the players were very brave. This is not a place for hiding, you have to stand tall and be counted and they did that."
But Pardew was keen to also thank the fans for playing an important part in the win at Upton Park.
Under pressure after such a poor run of defeats, the manager was pleased to see plenty of support from the supporters, who created an intimidating atmosphere at kick-off with chants of "there's only one Alan Pardew".
"The fans were special," he added. "They showed the quality that some grounds can't get.
"I'm not the most emotional of people but I was a little bit choked at the start, with the way they backed me, and I thank them for that.
"I thought Mark Hughes changed it tactically at half time realising that Ted (Sheringham) wasn't going to go and close full backs down so they started dominating play and we got nervous and defended deep.
"You have to dig deep then and show your character - we had chances on the break though, and unfortunately didn't take them.
"When we got two I thought we were home and dry, but in the West Ham way we let them have a goal."
Pardew now hopes the Hammers second win of the campaign will kick start their climb out of the relegation zone.
"That will help because the pressure does begin to mount and perhaps we can go back to that quality and exuberance we showed last year," added Pardew.
Blackburn managed a consolation goal deep into injury time but this result eased some of the pressure on a beleaguered Hammers boss.
"It has been a long wait," said a relieved Alan Pardew.
"We did get very, very nervous but it's a great win for this club and the fans and players deserve it.
"I thought the players were very brave. This is not a place for hiding, you have to stand tall and be counted and they did that."
But Pardew was keen to also thank the fans for playing an important part in the win at Upton Park.
Under pressure after such a poor run of defeats, the manager was pleased to see plenty of support from the supporters, who created an intimidating atmosphere at kick-off with chants of "there's only one Alan Pardew".
"The fans were special," he added. "They showed the quality that some grounds can't get.
"I'm not the most emotional of people but I was a little bit choked at the start, with the way they backed me, and I thank them for that.
"I thought Mark Hughes changed it tactically at half time realising that Ted (Sheringham) wasn't going to go and close full backs down so they started dominating play and we got nervous and defended deep.
"You have to dig deep then and show your character - we had chances on the break though, and unfortunately didn't take them.
"When we got two I thought we were home and dry, but in the West Ham way we let them have a goal."
Pardew now hopes the Hammers second win of the campaign will kick start their climb out of the relegation zone.
"That will help because the pressure does begin to mount and perhaps we can go back to that quality and exuberance we showed last year," added Pardew.
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