club up says David Sullivan
Daily Telegraph
By Jason Burt 11:00PM BST 28 Apr 2011
David Sullivan has questioned the commitment of some West Ham United players
as the club battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
In a frank and heartfelt interview with The Telegraph, the club's co-owner
and chairman also rated the team's chances of survival at just "25 per cent"
and said he personally will have "let down" the supporters if the demotion
happens. Sullivan, clearly frustrated, questioned whether some modern-day
footballers cared enough because they are "spoilt" by the huge amounts of
money they earn and this can affect their performances. West Ham are bottom
of the Premier League with just four matches to go, starting with Sunday's
trip to Manchester City, and Sullivan said that this season's struggles have
shocked him. "We didn't come here to be relegated, we didn't think at the
start of the season that we would be relegated and we have to put it right
next season," he said. "If we are in the Premier League we have to make sure
we are not fighting relegation, if we are in the Championship we have to
make sure we are in the top two this time next year."
Sullivan has thought about addressing the squad for the season's run-in, to
ram home the importance of not getting relegated, but admitted: "I've been
thinking about it but I think the players might think it's a joke. "I could
go in there and give them a Churchill speech but whether it's going to do
any good, I don't know. "I think some players are spoilt, I don't say just
with our players, I'm saying with all clubs. How do you motivate
millionaires? It's a problem all managers have. "Alex Ferguson has got that
fear factor and I do think that a manager needs that fear factor. You look
at Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and Jose Mourinho. The players are a little
bit frightened of them. "But I'm sure a few of the players are already
looking at where they will be next season — their contracts are up, they'll
be off. "It means the manager [Avram Grant] might have a hard decision to
make if we go into the last game of the season needing a win to stay up — do
you trust the fate of the club to them or do you make the decision that you
will not play those players? "It's a very difficult decision. Do you go for
players who are committed to the club? If you look at that last game and
someone is on a Bosman [free transfer], will that player risk injury? Some
will, some won't. It depends on the mentality of the player."
There is a clear frustration in Sullivan's voice – and a personal toll also.
The 62 year-old said he wakes up "10 times a night" worrying about the fate
of the club he acquired in January 2010, but insisted he would rebuild the
squad over the summer — with an exodus of players expected. "I'm battling
on," he said. "Obviously we are facing the reality that 70-75 per cent we
are likely to be in the Championship next year. But there is still a 25-30
per cent chance we won't be. "We have to be realistic. The bookmakers put
our chances at 28 per cent and you have to accept that. "I feel for the
supporters. We have fantastic supporters and I feel myself and David [Gold,
the co-chairman ] have let them down. We have failed to deliver and the
bottom line in football is that it's a delivery business. "Forget all the
excuses – the bad luck, the good luck, the injuries – because over a season
it sort of averages out. OK, it probably hasn't quite averaged out for us
this year but you can't blame that. "I can't sleep at night. It hasn't
affected my health but it has affected my mind. I wake up 10 times a night
thinking about the state of the club. I ask myself, 'What can we do?' I know
there is only so much you can do. "But I can't switch off at all. I'm sure
most of our supporters can't either. We are supporters also. Supporters who
have made a huge investment, but that is secondary, and we, as supporters,
are gutted at the way things have developed. "We can scramble and stay up
and salvage something but we can't delude ourselves it's been a good season.
But at least we are in a better position to re-form for next season. "There
is no point denying it, but we are very depressed and we are very depressed
for the club's supporters. I feel I have let them down. I'm not a loser in
life and to get relegated is a serious loss. "It's not the end of the game
but it's like a boxing match and you take a bashing for three rounds. It's a
12-round fight and there are nine rounds to go, but you are in serious
trouble."
Sullivan insisted that he did not regret acquiring West Ham and inheriting
the perilous financial state of the club he now runs. "We haven't gone to
West Ham to make money," he insisted. "We would have bought Sheffield
Wednesday for £3 million or £4 million if we wanted to make an investment.
But we are not Sheffield Wednesday supporters; we are in this for the long
haul. Whatever it takes, we will turn this around."
Sullivan's and Gold's experience at their former club, Birmingham City, will
help. On the two occasions they were relegated from the Premier League, they
immediately returned to the top flight each time. "I hope that will count
for something," he said. "If it comes to it, we know what needs to be done
and we can put together a side to get us back up straight away. "I don't
accept it has come to that yet and there is a long way to go still. But
there is certainly no point being in denial and declaring 'we won't be
relegated'. "Against that the club is in a worse financial state. We will
have to shed a few players and a few players will not want to stay. We will
have to bring in new players to bring us back up. "I think a lot of the
players at West Ham will not want to play in that division [the
Championship]. I don't think it's going to be easy and you need players who
are proven in that division plus some young players who are fearless and who
have the energy to play 46 games a season. "We have some players who find 38
games very difficult. "I'm anticipating bringing in players who are £2
million, £3 million. I can't name names but you are looking at players who
might be, for example, the leading goalscorers in the Championship. "If you
buy two guys who can get you 25 goals each, well that's 50 goals and gives
you the basis for going straight back up."
Grant's future will also be decided. "We sit down at the end of every
season, and whatever club we have been in, with the manager and hear what
his thoughts are, what our thoughts are and we decide on the future at that
point in time," Sullivan said.
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