White hot

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We're at home. It's a derby match. We need not only the three points but also to be convincing and entertaining. Confidence, it breeds momentum but also belief. And it heals. Much like one game can bring the negatives, the next can drown them out with positives.

Having witnessed Arsenal's display away to Villa those voices in my head continue to dissect the despondency that befell us with ten men when we played them. What if, what if...we had eleven for the full ninety. Seems that game, as hurtful as it was and will always remain to be, might end up being a harsh lesson in discipline and nothing more. Both sides didn't learn much from that particular result. Perhaps aside from the brave tactical reshuffles our coach implemented during the course of the game. Not sure our enemy were as fruitful in the aftermath even with the honours claimed. Just ask the travelling gooners who decided that this weekend (away to Villa) they'd inform their manager that he can't possibly know what he's doing. Football. Only the present seems to matter. You're as good as your last game.

So, West Ham United at the Lane. They are dogged. Physical. Not exactly easy on the eye. But enough about their supporters, their team isn't too dissimilar to those descriptions either. We have to be prepared to contain them (set-pieces, corners etc) but to be completely honest I'd rather our mentality was focused on dismantling their defence when we're on the offensive.

That fabled '17 minutes' at the Emirates, undeniable. But then we did that at Old Trafford also. The trend of that tempo being away from home. Maribor was the glitch in the matrix in N17 but Adebayor's only attacking prowess will be limited to the newspaper columns for the time being. But what we have has to be enough. It's more than enough. Use width, aggression and the noise that will surely, unquestionably emanate around White Hart Lane.

No excuses for the supporters in attendance and surely no excuse for the players to be pumped up for it. This is the time to awake the beast and unleash destruction. To be honest, I couldn't care less who the opposition are. This is more about decisiveness in selection, formation and application.

Time to embrace the battle with unrelenting desire. Time to reconstruct our weary fortress and refill its moat with white hot lava.

Do this.