Glenn Roeder believes new signing Lee Bowyer will prove to be red hot in the pressure-cooker atmosphere expected when West Ham take on Newcastle at Upton Park tomorrow.
The Hammers have yet to win at home in the Premiership, but manager Roeder is confident his acquisition from Leeds will be up for the fight ahead.
"I have never thought of Lee Bowyer as the sort of player who would want to play in the comfort zone," said Roeder. "I have always felt he is a player who excels under pressure - and we are very much in a pressure situation.
"He is used to the pressure of being in the top two or three, where Leeds often were while he was there in recent years, so obviously this is a different kind of pressure here because we are trying to come off the bottom of the table to get out of the relegation zone.
"But I have always maintained that the very best players have always produced their best football under the spotlight, and I would expect Lee to do some very good things for us, even in this difficult and pressurised situation," the West Ham boss said.
"I am sure he will handle it fine; he has got the experience to do that, and he is a player that still has an international career up ahead of him".
Provisional squad: James, Winterburn, Dailly, Pearce, Schemmel, Breen, Bowyer, Carrick, Sinclair, Cole, Defoe, Minto, Lomas, Moncur, Hutchison, Cisse, Camara, Ferdinand, Sofiane, Bywater. PA