Touchline ban will not hit Hammers, says Davies
3:20pm Friday 8th April 2011 in Sport
KEVIN Davies does not believe Avram Grant’s absence on the touchline will matter as Wanderers look to make it eight wins in a row against West Ham.
The Hammers boss was banned for two matches and fined £6,000 because of comments made about match official Mike Jones in the aftermath of his side’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Stoke last month.
As a result, he will be forced to sit in the stands as the East Londoners come to the Reebok looking to arrest a seven-game losing slide that stretches back to April 2007.
Skipper Davies, who boasts six goals in his last 10 appearances against West Ham, reckons modern technology will enable Grant to get his message across.
“You see Fergie sat up in the directors’ box with his earpiece in, giving instructions for United,” he said.
“I don’t know what the ruling is, but it doesn’t seem to have affected things that much.
“I think some players find it helpful if a manager is out there being vocal but some just prefer to get on with the job in their own way.
“I don’t remember it ever happening to us, but with all the communication devices available nowadays it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
Davies has urged the players to put next week’s semi-final against Stoke to the back of their minds one last time before enjoying Wembley.
“We look forward to the game against West Ham and then there will be the build-up to the Stoke game, which we have got to enjoy because things like that don’t come along very often,” he said.
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