The Hammers have drawn their last three games in a row, all of which have been at Upton Park, and Pardew believes three points against the Bluebirds will put West Ham back on the promotion track.

Pardew drew his opening game as Hammers boss 1-1 against Nottingham Forest mid-week, and has been quick to bring in new blood to the West Ham squad as he looks to fulfil the high expectation from supporters at the Boleyn Ground.

The former Reading manager has already brought in two new players since taking over from Trevor brooking, signing centre-half Hayden Mullins from Crystal Palace and right-back Robbie Stockdale from Middlesbrough, as he looks to strengthen the heavily criticised West Ham defence.

"The bottom line is I've got to get this team back to winning ways," said Pardew, after West Ham fans vented their frustration following the draw with Forest.

"I can understand the fans' frustration on Wednesday. We are at home, we are West Ham, we've got to win.

"I thought we were a bit negative in the first half, a bit slow to react to things, but in the second half we started to play a bit of football."

Pardew has admitted it will be tough for his side on Saturday, and knows it will take a good performance from his troops to emulate the 3-2 League Cup victory they got in the Welsh capital last month.

"Ninian Park can be a hostile place to go and Cardiff will be well up for this game."

Contact the Author