John Brodkin on how West Ham manager Alan Pardew won over disgruntled supporters

Alan Pardew began referring to boxing as he discussed today's FA Cup final. "You could put us down as Thomas Hearns because we have that power to hit," said West Ham's manager. "In boxing if you are a hitter you have got a chance of winning. And if Barcelona were Sugar Ray Leonard, then Liverpool would be Roberto Duran, and I think you'll find that Hearns beat him once."

Pardew was soon posing for photographs beside a punch-bag and in his case the language and image seem highly appropriate.

Pardew, after all, took blow after blow in his first 18 months at Upton Park and looked set to be counted out. This afternoon's FA Cup showpiece, though, is the peak of an impressive fightback. Anyone suggesting just over a year ago Pardew would establish West Ham in the top half of the Premiership, never mind get to a cup final and into Europe, would have been looked at as if they had taken one too many punches to the head.

It was with the executioners waiting that Pardew entered the Millennium Stadium last May for the Championship play-off final but the mood and perceptions of him as he returns could scarcely be more different. If the journey looks extraordinary, to Pardew it must feel familiar. He was a far from instant hero as a player at Crystal Palace, whom he joined from non-league Yeovil at 25, but determinedly won over the sceptics there as well.

"He had a bit of a tough time at Palace," his former team-mate Mark Bright recalls. "If you are not a flair player or someone who does certain things for the crowd, it can be difficult. When he came it was hard for him because he was dogged - he chased and closed and ran and tackled and got the ball and gave it to others. There were moans and groans from the crowd but when he scored the winner in the [ 1990] FA Cup semi-final it endeared him to the crowd.

"Pards is astute and he was aware of certain sections of the crowd but he dug in - that's probably a good phrase for him. He had the support of his team-mates because you knew what he was going to give you. Football's never been a problem for him because he's a hard-working person. Winning over a crowd is something he'd done once."

Promotion won Pardew time at Upton Park and he has used it wisely. With a few low-profile exceptions, his signings have proved astute in bringing the club to the next level and Bobby Zamora describes him as "a bit more relaxed now".

"There was a huge amount of pressure on myself and my staff," Pardew says of the play-off final. "We tried not to transfer that too much to the players but I'm sure they felt it through the media and they dealt with it well. This time there isn't that pressure."

That is not to say Pardew intends just to enjoy the day out. He emphasises he will not be grinning if Liverpool triumph. That sort of drive characterised him last season, too, and may have helped him forge a bond with the supporters now there has been an upturn in fortune. "I had a really lovely email sent to me the other day about what West Ham are about: the eternal trier, never giving in, fighting against the odds," Pardew says. "Most of our fan base are from that walk of life. We represent that and hopefully the team will represent that in Cardiff."

For all the talk of boxing and spirit, though, Pardew is aware of the need to retain calm. "I have to watch out that I don't motivate my team too much," he says. "An example we are all aware of is Paul Gascoigne in his first cup final [ 1991] when he was over-zealous and ended up with that horrific injury. There is a point where my team has to be motivated but not to a level where they will make errors and not play at their best."

There is far more to Pardew than fight in any case, even if his late entry into the professional game has made him appreciative of the rewards and willing to graft for them. "He's very thorough," says the goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. "We know all about the opposition, their strengths and weaknesses, how we can exploit them and how they will be hoping to exploit any of our shortcomings and how we have to counteract that. I think for us preparation has been key.

"What I felt working with him this season is that he is a manager better suited to the Premier League, just as West Ham is better suited to the Premier League. A lot of times your approach to the game that brings success in the Premier League won't bring success in the Championship, and conversely you look at Sunderland and the approach that brought success in the Championship hasn't brought it in the Premier League. He's a Premier League manager."

Pardew looked to fill his players with that belief they belonged in a division in which few of them had played. But a young, exuberant squad are also expected to stay firmly in line. "He's got defined rules and if you break them he will let you know he's not happy," says West Ham's managing director Paul Aldridge. "He's not got one set of rules for certain players and one for others. You can be a first-team YTS or the top scorer in the first team and the rules are the same.

"The players have respected that. He's very keen on time-keeping but he's pragmatic as well and one of the first things he did was put training back half an hour to make sure no one had any excuses for being late because of traffic. Also when he looks at a player he looks at the character and knows what sort of person he can work with. The unit is very strong and he's always keen to make sure that's the case.

"Alan was always very confident going into this season and that instils confidence not only in the players but the board as well. That's why we were confident to back his judgment with the money we had available and put players on long-term contracts."

Pardew has overseen a high number of arrivals and departures in remodelling the squad and the regeneration is bearing fruit now.

"He's always been pretty consistent through the good and bad times," says Aldridge. "He doesn't knee-jerk into decisions when things don't go well. That's good in this industry because we make a lot of decisions and sometimes you have to sit back and take the long-term view, which Alan always has done."

A few fans have apologised to Pardew for misjudging him, the manager says, though he insists he finds that more an embarrassment than a pleasure. Just as he did not panic when times were tough, he has not lost focus during this upturn. "It is not easier, it is just a different set of problems," he says. "People knocking on your door wanting more money, more tickets, a bigger bed, the shower head's not big enough . . ."

A key challenge, too, is to maintain the upward trend amid higher expectations. No one at Ipswich needs reminding that their fifth-place Premiership finish of 2001 after winning promotion was followed by relegation the following season. Pardew senses West Ham are made of sterner stuff. "He now wants to win the Uefa Cup next year," Aldridge says.

Landing a knockout blow on Liverpool would be just the start.