West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers: Match Preview
Knees Up Mother Brown
By: Preview Percy
He's been away with the Derby & Joan club - whic came as a surprise to
them since they kicked him out years ago. He is Preview Percy and here's
his take on this weekend's match....
Next we entertain Blackburn Rovers in a 3pm Saturday kick-off at the
Boleyn. TfL have helpfully shut the District line once more - their
excuse earlier this season was that the works are planned 6 months in
advance. They've remained rather silent on the past 4 months though.
Blackburn come into this match on the back of a 1-0 defeat of Bolton
last week, a victory that, whilst not totally easing their relegation
worries, at least pointed them in the general direction of safety. The
win was, however, the only one of their last six games, the other five
results comprising three draws (2-2 at home to Blackpool, 1-1 at the
library and 1-1 at home to Birmingham) and two defeats (2-0 away to
Everton and 1-0 at home to Man City) giving them a return of 6 points
from their last 18 and leaving them six points and four places above us
which, irrespective of our own problems, is still close enough to the
drop zone for them to have genuine concerns - especially if the result
of this match goes the right way from our point of view. Their remaining
fixtures include the visit of Moan Utd - where if the players don't beat
you the ref will - and a last day away trip to Molineux where fellow
strugglers Wolves will also be in "fighting for life" mode.
When we last met these opponents they'd just dispensed with the services
of Allardyce - funny how his surname contains the word "lard" isn't it.
The current incumbent in the hotseat is Steve Kean who, at the time of
our visit to Ewood, had just been appointed d caretaker manager by
Venkey's, the Indian based poultry farming business. Kean now has the
job on a permanent basis (though the definition of that word in football
terms is, of course, flexible in the extreme). There have been
mutterings about the various connections between Kean, his agent and the
sports management group Kentaro with more than one eyebrow being raised
at the potential for conflicts of interest to arise within a club where
agents appear to have a major say in the running of the club. Makes you
wonder what the late Jack Walker would have made of it all.
They have two definite antipodean absentees for this match in the form
of Ryan Nelsen and Vince Grella. Kiwi captain Nelsen's season ended
prematurely following knee surgery in April, whilst Aussie Grella is in
a similar boat, his injury-hit season coming to a spluttering halt with
an Achilles problem.
There are three further players listed on the "subject to fitness-test"
list: Dave "Junior" Hoilett is a striker/winger who hails from Canada,
thus adding to those players from around the Empire amongst the Rovers
squad. Oh ok then "Commonwealth" if you must. Hoilett's career in Europe
began in Germany with loan spells at Paderborn and St Pauli. On his
return to Ewood in 2009 he impressed with a brace in a pre-season
friendly against Leigh Genesis, though his contribution in later
pre-season matches against Westhoughton Pink Floyd, Horwich Emerson Lake
& Palmer and Ince-In Makerfield Van Der Graaf Generator don't seem to
have been recorded for posterity.
Another doubt is midfielder David Dunn. Dunn seemed to have enormous
potential as part of a decent England U21 in the period either side of
the turn of the millennium. Indeed, he even gained full international
recognition, replacing somebody called Kieron Dyer in a 2002
international v Portugal. However, all the early promise seemed to
disappear and a difference of opinion with Rovers boss Graeme Souness
led to his transfer to Birmingham City where he spent 3 ½ seasons
between 2003-2007. During the January 2007 window it looked for all the
world as if he would be signing for Allardyce who, at that time, was
espousing his version of "the beautiful game" at Bolton Wanderers. Dunn
even took and passed a medical but, alerted to the player's apparent
fondness of clubs beginning with the letter "B", Mark Hughes laid out
£2.2m to bring the player back to the club where his career had started.
The deal annoyed the hell out of Allardyce - which was nice - and
saddened the then Birmingham manager Steve Bruce who might have stood
more of a chance of hanging onto the player had he not constantly
referred to him as "Dunny" - a name that will no doubt raise a schoolboy
giggle amongst those who hail from the Australian part of the Empire,
sorry, Commonwealth.
The third fitness test will be taken by 35 year old Spaniard Michel
Salgado, who was once described by then Real Madrid team-mate Steve
McManaman as "a genuine psychopath" . Salgado apparently rejoices in the
nickname "Il Due" which apparently is Italian for the number two.
Aussies, feel free to make up your own punch-line involving Dunny at
this point. The last of the right-sided defender's 53 Spanish caps came
in 2006 and no doubt he was more than relieved to finally escape Real
Madrid in 2009, fulfilling a no doubt long standing ambition to play at
Ewood Park rather than the Bernabau. Of the three fitness test players,
Kean reckons "at least two" will be fit for the match - though rather
unsportingly the Rovers boss wouldn't say which two.
Up front against Bolton the line was led by veteran journeyman Jason
Roberts. Roberts is a nephew of former West Brom (amongst others)
striker Cyrille Regis. Roberts arrived at Ewood from Wigan in 2006 and
is yet another of those apparently ordinary forwards who seems to be
able to wreak havoc with our defence. Other options up front include
Senegalese international Mame Biram Diouf who is on loan from Salford,
and Roque Santa Cruz, who is on loan from Manchester City. Santa Cruz
has yet to score since his return from Eastlands whilst Diouf has netted
three times in his 25 league outings this term.
Their top scorer is Nikolai Kalinic, the Croatian international who has
five league goals this season, though he was one who started from the
bench last weekend, getting 25 minutes in the win over Bolton.
Us? Well if the owners can't be bothered to put in an appearance it does
beg the question as to why I should bother. It's only the editors'
insistence that they will hide my walking frame just before opening time
if I don't write something now that is keeping me putting pen to paper
as we speak.
Team news isn't great. There are major doubts about the fitness of
Footballer Of The Year (Bale? Pah!) Scott Parker and, even if he is fit
to start it's a bit of a dilemma as to whether he should play. On the
one hand, starting him might just kick start the team into better things
in a match from which three points are a must. On the other hand, if (as
reports suggest) his Achilles is still not right, risking him could well
rule him out for the equally as vital last two matches. It's an
unenviable position for the manager. Whichever option Grant goes for
he'll be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.
Mark Noble's season appears to be over - he's suffering from something
that has the brilliant name of Gilmore's Groin, which, coincidentally,
is probably the name of one of those Australian places in the middle of
nowhere which has one pub and one Dunny. There are also doubts over
Upson (dead leg) and Tomkins (knee, though arguably DaCosta if fit might
be the better option to deal with Roberts.
I suppose that there were some crumbs of comfort to be taken from the
performances at Chelsea and Man City. Predictable though the result at
Stamford Bridge was (not least Torres breaking his duck, the result
flattered them. But, as the old saying goes if you don't take your
chances... The true merit of the performance at Eastlands was less easy
to judge. Sure we had our moments but how much they were down to City
taking their collective feet off the pedal is open to question.
So it's down to this. Win and we get to prolong the agony for another
week lose and we may as well all join the owners wherever it is they
chose to go when they can't be bothered to watch us play. I'll go for a
nervy 2-1 win which will have us all looking nervously at the other results.
Enjoy the game!
Last Season: Drew 0-0 - a match devoid of interest
Referee: Peter Walton Poor official who famously sent off Freddie
Piquionne for climbing into the crowd at Everton, despite the fact that
he, er, didn't.
Danger Man: Jason Roberts He's just that sort of player.
Daft Fact Of The WeekStrange talent show winner Susan Boyle, was
actually born in Blackburn. Although it is a completely different
Blackburn, it's still the most interesting thing to have happened within
300 miles of Ewood Park.
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Sell at your peril, Grant tells Gold
Knees Up Mother Brown
Avram Grant has insisted that West Ham should hang on to their better
players in the event of relegation - 24 hours after co-chairman David
Gold suggested they would be sold.
With just three league games left to play this season - the first of
which comes tomorrow when Blackburn visit the Boleyn Ground - United sit
bottom of the Premier League and three points from safety.
Gold told the BBC yesterday that the squad's English internationals -
Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker and Carlton Cole - would
almost certainly depart, should the Irons slip through the trap door.
However Grant - whose position is already under serious threat - accused
Gold of taking a short-term view of the situation, whilst maintaining
his stance that Premier League survival can still be achieved.
"To put West Ham in a good position you need to keep the good players,"
he said. "A good, positive player can help you do that. About the
profile of the squad, the strategy, you need to think more than one year.
"Newcastle were relegated, they kept their team and they are now in the
middle of the league. I can give you many examples.
"Most of the teams in the second division have become much stronger. We
don't want to do it. We want to stay in this league and do it in the
Premier League - and I believe that we can do it."
The Israeli also lambasted some of the club's 'ex-players', who he
claimed had been a negative influence on the club this season.
"Sometimes ex-players forget what they are doing," he blasted. "One of
the [former] players criticising one of our [current] players was
relegated twice at this club. So I think when you point the finger at
others you have to look at yourself.
"If I listen to the voices around us we would have been relegated in
December. All the voices of the former players started to speak in
October and November and said that in January we would be 20 points behind.
"I respect everyone's opinion. Everyone has an opinion. It is good for
people to have opinions, but I don't have to agree with it."
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EXCLUSIVE: Footballer of the Year Parker on West Ham, England and psychology
Daily Star
Since becoming only the second West Ham player after Bobby Moore to be
voted the Footballer of the Year, Scott Parker says things have
definitely improved at home.
'It has helped me out a bit indoors,' he explains. 'All I ever heard
from my seven-year-old son was "Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank
Lampard". Whereas Daddy's at West Ham, at the bottom of the league. I
think he was even getting a bit of stick at school. But just the other
day I overheard him talking to one of his friends. "Daddy's Footballer
of the Year, you know," he said. It was nice.'
Like young Frankie, Daddy is immensely proud and he is genuinely excited
to be receiving the prestigious award at a dinner in his honour at the
Lancaster London hotel on Thursday. Not least because he will be joining
a pantheon that includes some of the greatest players the world has ever
seen; from Stanley Matthews in 1948 to Cristiano Ronaldo 60 years later.
From names like Lofthouse, Matthews, Charlton and Best to Keegan,
Dalglish, Keane and Henry.
'I think, when I get there on Thursday and see all the past winners,
it's going to be a bit humbling for me really,' he says. 'I'm over the
moon and I'm really looking forward to the night. The way I am, I never
imagined I'd win it. Especially with us being at the wrong end of the
table. But that's partly what makes it quite nice. The fact that the
writers still appreciate what I've done over the last couple of years.'
For Parker, however, it will be a night of conflicting emotions. A sense
of joy that will be tempered by West Ham's current predicament but also,
on a far more personal level, the absence of the one man he says was his
greatest inspiration; the man who was always there for him and the man
who would have been the proudest of all those present. His father.
On March 18, Mick Parker died after a four-year battle with cancer. A
week before his son finally made his breakthrough as an England player
and a month before his crowning moment.
'That's going to be the biggest miss on Thursday,' says Parker. 'The
fact that my dad isn't going to be there, sitting there with my wife,
Carly, my sister and some of my closest friends. It was the same when we
played against Wales. He would have been chuffed to bits to have seen me
play like that for England. He was old school. Never that forthcoming
with praise, but if he said I'd played well I knew I must have.
Triumph through adversity: Parker's father died earlier this year
'In many ways he was a typical football dad. He worked as a lorry
driver, later as a taxi driver, but he took me everywhere, from the age
of nine. Even for the two years I spent at the national school at
Lilleshall, he travelled up to watch me every weekend.'
PARKER ON WEST HAM:
'It's nice to get personal accolades but if we are relegated it will all
count for nothing '
There is something very British about Parker. Something inside him that
does not crave sympathy for what has happened. He actually asked his
club to try and keep a lid on news of his father's death ahead of the
game against Tottenham he appear ed in the following day.
But at the same time he has no objection to reflecting on the kind of
tragedy that confronts most of us at some point during our lives. 'My
dad was 63 when he died and he'd been ill for a long time,' he says. 'He
was doing really well for a while. But it was probably a year ago when
he started to struggle again.'
On the Friday Mick died at the Maidstone Hospital in Kent, Parker had
gone to visit him after training. 'He was in a pretty bad way,' he says.
'And I remember asking the nurse for some pain relief for him. He was on
morphine and I'm glad he was. If he had known he was dying there's no
way I could have coped with it.
Proud father: Parker's award puts him up there with his sons other heroes
'I stayed with him all the way, until he got comfortable. And we talked.
My dad was a Spurs fan and as I was leaving he said, "Play well
tomorrow. I'll watch you on Match of the Day". I said, "Course I will,
Dad. See you tomorrow".
'That evening I joined up with the team at the hotel, ahead of the game.
But then, at about half 11, I got a call from my sister. My dad had
called her saying he was really struggling and he passed away later that
night. I left the hotel immediately to go to the hospital and after
dealing with things there I went home. I spoke to the medical staff at
the club and said I'd see how I felt in the morning before deciding if I
could play. It was obviously pretty late by the time I got home and I
didn't get much sleep as you can imagine.'
He chose to play because it really was what his dad would have wanted;
because it was the last thing he asked him to do. Parker takes some
comfort in delivering on his promise, performing a vital role in a
goalless draw at White Hart Lane that earned Avram Grant's side a
precious point.
He says it is the finality of death that has shocked him. The
realisation that the conversation they had before he left the hospital
that afternoon really was the last one they would enjoy.
Relegation scrap: Parker is determined to keep West Ham up
Relegation scrap: Parker is determined to keep West Ham up
'That's where I am at the moment,' he says. 'The football has been a
release from it all, but it's hit me harder in the last three weeks
because I've been injured. There's been more time to think about things.
After a game I would always speak to my dad. A couple of times I've
started to call him and then thought, "S**t, he's not going to answer".
That's what gets you, the fact that you're never going to talk to them
again. On the outside I'm trying to be strong for my family but inside I
have to admit it hurts.'
PARKER ON ENGLAND:
'If it hadn't gone well for me against Wales I would not have been
picked again'
It feels slightly inappropriate to steer the conversation back towards
football. 'It's OK,' says this thoroughly decent man. 'My dad wouldn't
be the least bit offended.' So we sit at West Ham's training ground and
talk about how he came to be considered the finest player in the
Barclays Premier League this season; how he finally gained the attention
of Fabio Capello; and how he owes much of it to the help he has received
from the sports psychologist he hopes will be among his guests on
Thursday night.
We divert briefly, however, to the question of which players have
impressed him this season. He declines the invitation to vote for his
Footballer of the Year. 'That's a tough one this season,' he replies.
But he is prepared to name the toughest opponents he has encountered in
the midfield battle zone he inhabits with such distinction. 'The one
player who has really stood out for me this season is Luka Modric,' he
says. 'He's a class player and really hard to play against. Jack
Wilshere, too. He's done exceptionally well and I saw first hand, away
with England, what a good player he is; how mature he is.
In awe: Parker has been impressed by Luka Modric's performances
In awe: Parker has been impressed by Luka Modric's performances
'Modric is difficult to play though, difficult to pick up. He's
obviously quite small, he's got a low centre of gravity. Technically
he's very good. He's got all the attributes. He's got a turn of pace, too.'
Capello would now agree that Parker also boasts some of those
attributes. Even if the Italian did leave the 30-year-old frustrated by
the fact that, having selected him for the pre-tournament training camp
ahead of last summer's World Cup, he did not give him a single minute of
match time to prove himself worthy of a place in the final 23-man squad.
'I don't think I'm any different to the player I was last season,' he
says. 'I'm exactly the same. I was obviously playing some good football
last season because I went to Austria.
'But at that moment in time there were clearly players ahead of me. In
football you always need your chance to come. And this year, with a few
injuries, I have been given another chance.
'Throughout my career I've noticed that when I get a chance I need to
take it. Some players I've seen over the years, get time to breathe a
bit. I can't explain why but I don't think I've ever been afforded that
luxury. I broke into the first team at Charlton at 16, didn't really
take my chance and went missing for the best part of four years.
Psychological battles: Parker feels he over-analysed the game at times
Psychological battles: Parker feels he over-analysed the game at times
'With England it had been the same and I'm sure, had it not gone well
for me against Wales, you never would have seen me in an England shirt
again. It sounds harsh but I certainly felt that was the reality. To be
honest, I thought after the whole experience in Austria it was unlikely
I'd ever get another chance.'
PARKER ON PSYCHOLOGY:
'For a footballer to admit that he might have a mental weakness is not
easy '
He quite rightly feels now that he has 'a foot in the door', that he has
become part of Capello's plans and he says he owes much of that to Mike
Griffiths, the sports psychologist who works with the players at Upton
Park. 'It was probably two years ago that Mike came into my life and
into my career,' he says. 'To find your weaknesses on the field can be
quite easy. If you're weak on your left foot you go and hit some more balls.
'But for a footballer to admit there might be a mental weakness there,
that maybe at times their thoughts decapitate them, that they can't
perform at the level they want to, is not easy. It's not something
players like to admit to, because it does sound like a weakness. Nobody
wants to admit that they've panicked because there's 60,000 people out
there and they can't perform.
'But I realised I was the sort of person who would think a lot and
probably analyse things too much. And at times I felt it was holding me
back, and I knew if I could improve that part of my game it would help me.
Midfield enforcer: Parker has forged a reputation as one of the Premier
League's best midfielders
Midfield enforcer: Parker has forged a reputation as one of the Premier
League's best midfielders
'Mike has helped me no end. Speaking to him, him understanding me, using
different techniques. We speak religiously the day before a game. It's
helped massively.
'He puts things into perspective for me, because it is just a football
match. We are all human. We all feel the same things. I get paid to play
football but I'm also a normal bloke and if I give the ball away three
times on the bounce I'm going to start thinking, "Bloody hell, it's
going to be one of those days". And it's those kind of thoughts that can
paralyse a player.'
Serious injury came just as he was beginning to impress Jose Mourinho
but he does now wonder if his time at Chelsea would have been more
successful had he worked with Griffiths then. 'I was very young when I
went to Chelsea and I had some serious injury problems there,' he says.
'But maybe if I'd known Mike then it would have gone better for me. I
maybe wouldn't have left as soon as I did.
'It's like anything. It's like having kids. My first child was born
seven years ago and it was a lot easier with the third than it was with
the first, because you are older and wiser. It's the same in football.'
Jumping for joy: Parker hopes his renaissance continues
Jumping for joy: Parker hopes his renaissance continues
That wise old head is certainly something West Ham need right now as
they try to secure enough points from their final three matches to
remain in the Premier League.
Parker thinks his chances of appearing today against Blackburn are
remote. The ankle and achilles injury is still extremely sore and, were
it not for the precarious position his club are in, they would not even
consider taking such a gamble.
'I think I'm probably touch and go for the weekend but I should be fine
for Wigan,' he says. 'But because of the pressure the club's under we're
trying everything we possibly can.
'It's very nice to get the personal accolades but, as I've said before,
if I'm driving home after the last game of the season and we've been
relegated it will all count for nothing.
'At the end of the day it's a team game and I'm part of a team, part of
a squad and if we get relegated I'm part of that, too. It's why we all
have to fight, because when a team gets relegated it affects everyone at
the club; the people who can't decide things on the pitch; who have to
rely on us to do that for them.'
That's another reason why he's Footballer of the Year.
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Karren Brady's football diary
The Sun
KARREN BRADY - First lady of football
Saturday, April 30
SPECULATION has it West Ham will be forced to sell our best players
should we go down while it seems Spurs could be in a similar position
because of their likely failure to make the Champions League.
This is the damned if you do and damned if you don't dilemma of
top-level football, which, I believe, brought the resignation of Martin
O'Neill as Villa manager five days before the start of the season.
He'd lost Gareth Barry to Man City and the departure of James Milner to
City a year later convinced him Villa were becoming a selling club.
Rightly, Harry Redknapp fears such a fate for his cleverly-assembled squad.
From the financial trench at our club, I can though report as much
sympathy for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy as for Redknapp, simply because
spending what you don't have can be a risk too far.
Sunday, May 1
THE KNIGHTS of West Ham are busy this weekend.
After Sir Trevor Brooking's appearance at the Royal Wedding, Sir Geoff
Hurst is on the morning airwaves voicing his thoughts on our dreadful
season.
There isn't much he says that I would argue with. He thinks the ability
in our squad ought to have ensured we finish around the middle of the
table and that a move from Upton Park is necessary.
However, he was less than sure about our future well-being at the
Olympic Stadium and in particular about the running track that must remain.
I am certain we can deal with those problems and compete in a
spectacular stadium, so I have absolutely no quarrel with him. Others
continue to fire their poisonous doubts at us, as if our plans to
involve the whole East London community are a sinful delegation of our
duties.
Let positive ideas prevail, I say. And in this mood, even our 1-2 defeat
to Man City is just another setback in the club's great adventure. But I
wouldn't mind some of the relief my husband is experiencing having
confirmed his Burton team are staying up.
Not easy having to play more than half a season's worth of games in
three months, or a game every 3½ days. But, as they say, when the going
gets tough, the tough get going. Well done.
Monday, May 2
WOMEN in football should have been jigging along with Delia Smith
celebrating, as part owner of Norwich, promotion to the Premier League.
We lasses are loyal to those we love. No one more so than Delia. It
takes a bigger commitment to stay that way when things aren't going
well. Two bouts of relegation would have knocked the stuffing out of
quite a few men but our great cook is no chicken.
She and her husband, fellow majority shareholder Michael Wynn-Jones,
are, says Steve Cotterill, manager of today's beaten rivals Portsmouth,
'proper football people.'
I like the homeliness of the East Anglian couple, more impressive
because of a hint of ruthlessness in the acquisition of Paul Lambert,
snatched from Colchester after their neighbours had beaten Norwich 7-1
in the first match of last season.
Tuesday, May 3
THE LOOK of disbelief on Cristiano Ronaldo's face at a disallowed Real
Madrid goal makes me laugh out loud.
There's a lot of talk about summary justice at the moment and, well,
this was poetic. Ronaldo has been falling over non-existent tackles for
years. Here he is again in the Nou Camp, lunging forward in
time-honoured fashion, and he's looking beseechingly at the referee even
as he accidentally nudges Javier Mascherano who himself collapses as if
gunned down.
The referee rules that the Barcelona defender is prevented from tackling
and disallows Gonzalo Higuain's 47th-minute attempt even as it settles
in the back of net. I can practically hear Jose Mourinho choking - and I
don't think he's even in the stadium.
Elsewhere, the mystery of who owns Leeds United is cleared up.
Lo and behold, it's the milkman - Ken Bates. But he's not telling us how
much he paid or even to whom.
Dear old Ken, he has his own rules and he's sticking to them.
Wednesday, May 4
THREE days after West Ham's defeat at Man City, I'm still being reminded
I wasn't at Eastlands.
For the record, I didn't attend because it was my daughter's birthday
and I'm sure I would be more missed by my 15-year-old than by a bunch of
professional footballers. I'm living alone in a one-bedroom flat in
London all week and don't see much of my family in the Midlands, so I
hope Hammers fans will forgive me.
I don't pretend to be a football expert but I do know how to run a
business. We made the first trading profit since anyone in the office
can remember. I realise that doesn't mean a lot to supporters who may
shortly be suffering relegation blues but, behind the scenes, it is
vitally important.
I've also led the campaign to take our club to the Olympic Stadium, an
historic achievement. My simple message to the carpers is this: Bog off.
Thursday, May 5
RYAN SHAWCROSS is crowing again that any jeers aimed at him in the match
against Arsenal at the Britannia will only spur him on.
The Stoke defender ought to be ordered to watch a video of his
leg-shattering assault on Aaron Ramsey. It was gross, the result so
sickening that several players held their faces in their hands.
Shawcross should belt up. Young Ramsey may be playing on Sunday and I
trust that if Shawcross is half the man he should be, he'll step up and
tell him he's sorry.
When our Birmingham centre-back Martin Taylor's mistimed tackle on
Eduardo caused a similarly career-threatening injury, his remorse was so
great he was affected for months.
These things happen but Shawcross is implying he doesn't care about why
Arsenal fans feel the way they do. He should put the record straight
immediately.
Friday, May 6
IT WOULD be dishonest of me to state that David Sullivan is the most
tactful of men but he is incredibly honest in all the interviews he
gives, preferring the truth to spin or PR gain for himself.
Asked a question, he will always answer honestly - and be consistently
surprised when his sentiments or motives aren't understood.
He and joint owner David Gold came to Upton Park with dreams the size of
whales and tomorrow, if we don't win, they could be shrunk to tadpoles,
for a few weeks anyway.
I can practically hear Sullivan's heart breaking at our current
predicament and, while David Gold tries to convey statesmanlike
messages, he suffers as much, but privately.
Unlike the non-British owners of most of our top clubs, my chairmen have
no intention of selling out and spending their time counting their oil
shares.
They have always known West Ham are a marathon task but they, like the
rest of us, just didn't think it would start like this.
So, accepting full responsibility for the current plight, we have to get
on with it - and pray we beat Blackburn.
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JASON ROBERTS VOWS TO HAMMER ANOTHER
The Star
JASON ROBERTS has vowed to fan West Ham's relegation flames by
continuing his remarkable Upton Park scoring record.
Roberts has netted goals for West Brom, Wigan and current club Blackburn
at the Hammers' home.
The striker joined his team-mates at a training ground barbecue on
Tuesday to celebrate assistant boss John Jensen's 46th birthday.
And Roberts has pledged to turn up the heat on Avram Grant's rock-bottom
Hammers.
The Blackburn forward inspiring his struggling side to victory would
almost certainly secure top-flight survival.
The Grenada international said: "This is not a situation you want to be
in near the end of the season – fighting near the bottom of the table.
"But at the same time you have to relish the challenge.
"There is a lot riding on this, a lot riding on Blackburn staying in the
league.
"We know what it means to the club and to the fans and we are focused on
doing that.
"There are no excuses and there have never been any excuses from us.
"We know we have to do better and that is what we have been endeavouring
to do."
Rovers have not won at Upton Park since Kenny Dalglish was boss in 1994.
But Roberts has enjoyed plenty of personal success – he has scored four
times there.
The striker added: "It's funny because people talk about our
not-so-great record at West Ham.
"But I think of really good memories when I play at Upton Park.
"I think it is going to be a really good atmosphere and they really need
to win.
"I am sure West Ham will turn up and be very passionate as they always are.
"They will look at this game and see it as a good opportunity to turn
their run around and win a game."
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