West Ham boss Harry Redknapp has declared his support for his opposite number at Derby County Jim Smith and believes that the long-serving Rams manager can turn things round at Pride Park. Derby have yet to win in the Premiership and are desperate to get their season going with a victory over the Hammers who travel to the Midlands tonight.
Although Smith’s side are currently at the bottom of the table, Redknapp says that the ‘Bald Eagle’ will be able to call on his vast experience to change Derby’s fortunes and keep them in the top flight once again. The West Ham boss said:
"Jim normally turns them around. They've been down there the last couple of years but he normally gets them going eventually. Colin Todd's gone there and they know each other well and it looks a decent partnership.”
"I'm sure Jim'll fix it, he normally does but I said all along it's going to be a tough division this year. Jim is a real character and you have to admire the way he has survived all these years."
Jim has been a manager for over 25 years and has been in charge of the Rams since June 1995, with Redknapp having been at the helm at Upton Park since August 1994.
The Hammers boss guided his team out of the relegation zone after a similarly poor start to the season and is now looking to progress further up the table.
“We've only had two defeats in 12 games and one of those was against Arsenal who tend to beat most people anyway, and amongst those there have been some hard games at home, Liverpool and Man United are not the easiest of games," Redknapp said. "Hopefully we can put a little run together now and it's been good to have the likes of Ian Pearce back. He's played one game in two years and to come back and play two games and get through them last week was really encouraging.”
Redknapp obviously wants Smith to succeed at Pride Park and pull Derby away from danger but he will no doubt be hoping the Rams save their efforts for after tonight’s encounter, which could see the Hammers jump from 16th to 13th.
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