Pardew sorry for touchline row with
Arsene
West Ham manager Alan Pardew has apologised to Arsenal boss Arsene
Wenger for the unseemly touchline shoving match between the pair
that followed Marlon Harewood's winner at Upton Park.
Pardew and Wenger clashed when the Hammers chief celebrated
Harewood's late goal. A row ensued and after the pair had exchanged
words, the Frenchman shoved him.
Pardew told Sky Sports: 'I apologise if I offended Arsene. I
apologise. It was nothing personal, I was celebrating the
goal.'
He added: 'It was shame because it was a tense game and we were
under lot of pressure. I was celebrating the goal, that was all
basically.
'Arsene seemed to have a problem with that, probably rightly. It
was frustration, there was nothing personal.
'Nothing was said. Maybe he [Wenger] was angry at a couple of
decisions and it was a physical game. We wanted to upset Arsenal,
we wanted to win.
'But I was celebrating our goal, nothing more, and I apologise to
him again and to Arsenal.
'He is a top guy and I really respect him. I thought I was entitled
to celebrate the goal after a pulsating game.'
Asked if the pair shook hands at the end of the match, Pardew
insisted: 'I tried to. I hope [to see him after the match] and
hopefully I will. I want to sort things out. It`s not right for the
image of the game.
'The important thing is it was a great victory with a goal in the
last minutes. Emotions were high, but there was nothing dangerous
or horrible.
'That is what happens with last-minute goals.'
Pardew was anxious that his players got credit for the 1-0 win over
Arsenal.
'From our point of view the performance of the players was the key.
We looked to close them down and we were brave in the way we
approached the game. Tactically it worked for us but it doesn`t
always.
'Football has a beauty of rewarding you when you least expect it.
This was a big scalp.'
