West Ham hit back at Steven Gerrard claims that they 'tried everything' to disrupt Liverpool title bid

The Liverpool captain accused the Hammers of forcing their bus to park a mile away and turning up the heating in the changing rooms

Steven Gerrard celebrates scoring for Liverpool in the victory over West Ham (Getty Images)

West Ham have responded to claims from Steven Gerrard that they “tried everything to upset us” during the meeting at Upton Park at the weekend.

Liverpool would win the game 2-1 to keep their bid to win the Premier League title on course, however according to their captain, they had to overcome some dirty tricks to do so.

Gerrard made a number of light-hearted accusations after the match: “It was a very tricky game,” he told LFC TV. “We got a bit more than we expected – a hot dressing room, a dry pitch and the bus had to park a mile away.

“I think they tried everything to upset us. It was a good test of our character. We needed to prove that we’re capable of fighting for this title and we did that terrifically well."

However, West Ham have responded to the claims of the England captain, insisting they did not try any dirty tricks.

Co-owner David Sullivan took to Twitter to write the following...

Gold later clarified that he was not accusing the England captain of being a lier but only saying he was mistaken.

West Ham also released a statement on their official website under the headline "parking the bus" where they sought to clarify the facts surrounding Gerrard's comments.

In response to Gerrard's claim about "parking a mile away", West Ham explained: "Instead of manoeuvring the team bus into the Players' Car Park, as is the norm with visiting teams to the Boleyn Ground, Liverpool's coach instead initially parked in Green Street. The unusual parking location is estimated to have added around 20 metres to the usual walk from the coach door to the Players' entrance."

West Ham said in the statement they were "bemused" by the claim the away dressing room was too hot.

"West Ham staff received no complaint about the temperature from the visitors," read the statement. "Of course, West Ham staff would have been happy to turn up the air conditioning at our opponents' request."

Meanwhile the final claim by Gerrard that the pitch was dry was also rubbished - and if anything was wetter than usual.

"The consistent overnight rain that fell on the Boleyn Ground on Saturday meant that the 'dry' playing surface might have been a little wetter than was suggested," said West Ham.