FOOTBALL is a harsh world.

Reputations are built on results and not performances. For Stuart Pearce, his once prodigious reputation was on the fast train down a steep gradient.

Four points from five games and an early exit from the Carling Cup at the hands of Chesterfield left City and their manager feeling slightly beleaguered of late.

And after a first half against West Ham that saw City get scant reward after creating a hatful of chances, it seemed the side would once again come away with nothing to show.

But thankfully for Pearce, Georgios Samaras produced two magical moments to alleviate the pressure.

The Greek international was a spritely figure all afternoon. He came close to breaking the deadlock in the opening half, but a shot from the edge of the area shaved the post before his intended cross from the right had to be pushed away by West Ham goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

There was also more than a subtle hint of youthful exuberance in the City team, with Micah Richards and Miller an annoyance for the Hammers defence.

The big and burly Richards made two surging runs, but his first resulted in a scuffed shot and his second ended with a pass to Bernardo Corradi, who sent his close-range effort wide.

A lack of maturity may have affected Richards' final product, but that was not the case for Miller when his direct run on the right led to the first goal.

The teenager eluded lacklustre tracking from Hadyn Mullins to run into the penalty area and fire in a shot that deflected off a defender and into the path of Samaras.

The Greek international controlled the ball before slamming home an unstoppable volley.

And it was not long before Samaras doubled the lead with another example of confident finishing, as he clipped the ball over Carroll after being played in by Corradi.

It was game over after the second goal . . . West Ham offered little in the match.

If last week's performance against Newcastle was bad, then their efforts against City were worse.

Manager Alan Pardew decided to leave Argentina's superstar striker Carlos Tevez on the bench and maybe his physical presence could have made City's defence work harder.

He did come on 20 minutes from the end, as did Carlton Cole, replacing the ineffective Bobby Zamora and Marlon Harewood, but that was not enough time for the bulldog to settle in.

West Ham did not have a shot on target all game . . . and the pressure has now shifted to Pardew.