West Ham boss Alan Pardew is expecting to have a much stronger squad to draw on at the start of the Bank Holiday programme.

Fit for action - veteran striker Teddy Sheringham will be involved twice at the weekend Picture: NICK ANSELL

Hammers face a Saturday home clash with Burnley, followed by a trip to Coventry on Monday, and Pardew is buoyed by the return of several injured players.

Steve Lomas is back in contention after coming through a reserve-team friendly on Wednesday, while Anton Ferdinand, Hayden Mullins and Mattie Etherington are expected to shake off minor knocks.

Meanwhile leading scorer Teddy Sheringham, who sat out most of Tuesday night's cup win over Southend, could feature in both matches over the weekend despite fears about the 38-year-old's fitness.

"It would have been unfair on Teddy to ask him to play on Tuesday and then play two more games at the weekend," said Pardew.

"But there's no reason why he can't play two games in a week for us, even at his age."

Published Friday August 27, 2004

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