Fulham boss Chris Coleman has warned Alan Pardew life in the Barclays Premiership can quickly turn sour - and predicts West Ham's slide will begin at Craven Cottage.

The Hammers have made a flying start to their top-flight return after clinching seven points from four matches and they travel to their London rivals high in confidence after Monday night's 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa.

Such form has relieved the pressure on Pardew's shoulders but Coleman, who experienced the harsher side of life as a Premiership manager last season, has told his opposite number at Upton Park the plaudits can soon vanish.

He said: "You could say Alan has turned the corner but this is such a tough league.

"You can win a couple on the bounce and then you lose win three or four on the bounce. You must never get carried away.

"Alan took a lot of stick last season. All managers have been there. In the short time I've been doing the job I've taken a bit myself - especially last season.

"You have to take it on the chin, but Alan knows all about that."

Villa and Blackburn have fallen victim to West Ham's early surge with Newcastle yielding a point at St James' Park, but Fulham are also in high spirits.

They have secured four points from their last two outings and Coleman believes the Hammers face the greatest challenge of their season to date with his side desperate to climb into the Premiership's top 10.

He continued: "It's possibly a bad time to be playing West Ham.

"I watched them against Villa and they did very well - they were full of enthusiasm.

"They'll come to us full of confidence and they thoroughly deserved to beat Villa.

"But I believe we'll be their toughest game so far this season.

"The mood and form we're in over the last couple of games means it won't be easy for them - this is a London derby and we really want to win.

"If we beat them we'll jump into the top 10 and when that happens you pick up confidence.

"It's a big game for us. We've taken four points from the last two games and that has already given us confidence.

"It was the fashion in which we won them that was been particularly pleasing. We were outstanding against Newcastle last weekend and should have finished with all three points.

"The performance was great. The whole work ethic around the place has been much better. I'm in a much better frame of mind this year than last."

Fulham have coped admirably following the departure of last season's top scorer Andy Cole with Tomasz Radzinski and Brian McBride forging a dangerous partnership in attack and Coleman insists his side are not missing the former England striker.

The Welshman added: "Brian McBride has nine goals in the last 14 starts, which is as good as anybody's record.

"Tomasz is on fire - he's getting behind defences and his pace is scaring people to death.

"Collins John and Heidar Helguson are younger and less experienced but they'll be good for us.

"Andy was our top scorer last season and top four in the Premiership so he did his job. But he's moved on and now we have other strikers to score goals for us."

West Ham manager Alan Pardew has warned his in-form team they risk embarrassment if they dare to consider Craven Cottage an inviting away ground.

The Hammers are on a high following Monday night's 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa and the next team in their sights are Fulham.

But Pardew, who was a schoolboy Fulham supporter, has stressed to his players the dangers of mistaking Saturday's short trip as anything other than a tough task.

He said: "It is one of those rare grounds where you can walk through a nice little park where kids are playing. It is a relaxed atmosphere down by the river.

"So it would be very easy for us, especially on the back of the Villa result, to turn up there for a nice, pleasant afternoon in London and get completely turned over.

"I will certainly make sure the players are on their guard for that. The one thing we will be assured of is a fantastic reception from our travelling fans, who will make plenty of noise."

Pardew grew up in Wandsworth and attended many of Fulham's games, as a youngster, with his father.

He said: "My dad's favourite player was Johnny Haynes - that was all he ever used to talk to me about - so I have a fondness for Fulham.

"I haven't seen Fulham this season yet but my reports say they were unlucky not to take all three points from Newcastle last week.

"They have an outstanding midfield section and how well we cope with that is probably going to be the key to the game."

Fulham are managed by Chris Coleman and he and Pardew were playing colleagues at Crystal Palace in the 1991-92 season.

Pardew said: "Chris is a top fellow and is doing a terrific job. He was an inspired choice and we were together at Palace for a little while."

Pardew is considering giving 39-year-old Teddy Sheringham a rest, especially as Bobby Zamora is eager to be given a chance.

And he revealed that he might make further changes, in the team's shape at least, to try to consolidate the Hammers' impressive start to the season, which sees them sitting comfortably in seventh place.

He said: "The temptation is there to change our tactics for this one because we have been pretty open at home.

"But the team has its tail up and I'm thinking maybe we should just run with it. I'm toying with that at the moment."

The Upton Park boss has had his critics since taking charge at Upton Park but he now appears to be winning over the fans. The Aston Villa result brought praise from other quarters too.

He said: "I have had a few of the older West Ham players contact me to say it was just like the old days.

"It is always nice to hear from some of the pros who have been fantastic servants to this club."

The margin of the victory over Villa will have alerted other clubs to the potential threat of a side who gained promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs last season and as a result were expected to struggle.

Pardew is keen to make the most of his side being an unknown quantity - for as long as that lasts.

He said: "Maybe we caught Blackburn and Aston Villa out a little bit and we will find that out as we go along. But certainly we will be given a little more respect and diligence.

"People will now start coming up with ideas about how to beat us and we will have to try to counter-act that as the season evolves.

"We have had more or less the same team for four games and if you look at any Premiership team the team that starts the season is not the one that ends it.

"So there will be things that change and we will have to evolve as the season progresses."