The Hammers are bottom of the Barclays Premiership and with their inferior goal difference are effectively 11 points away from safety with just nine games left.

Neill arrived at Upton Park from Blackburn in January and a win this weekend would be the first for his new club on his first return to Ewood Park.

"I had a good relationship with the fans as well so it's going to be very strange," said Neill. "They need to win for European places and we need to win for survival. We'll have to put friendship aside and do what we've got to do to get the points."

Rovers are in the top half of the table and a top-five finish remains a possibility, but Neill is encouraged by West Ham's recent performance against Tottenham.

Although they were beaten 4-3, the Australia defender saw enough to suggest the Hammers can finish strongly in their last nine games.

"Certainly if we play the way we did and believe in ourselves the way we did then we'll be looking good for the last nine games," he said on club website whufc.com. "But it's important that we get back up to that level.

"Blackburn will be fired up for the game at home and they'll expect to win. It's a game that they'll prepare for even more because they know that on paper they should win because of the league positions."