Feb 10

David Sullivan says Gianfranco Zola ‘100% secure’ as West Ham manager

• Co-owner says: ‘We are not sackers. We support managers’
• ‘I am confident we will claw our way up the table’

The West Ham United joint chairman David Sullivan has said that the club have no intention of sacking their manager, Gianfranco Zola.

Zola was furious after Sullivan said salaries at the club would have to be cut, in order to get the Hammers’ £60m wage bill down to manageable levels. Sullivan’s remarks came on the eve of tonight’s match against Birmingham City the club Sullivan and his West Ham co-owner, David Gold, sold last October.

“He [Zola] is entitled to his opinion and I respect that,” Sullivan told Sky Sports News. “I hope it galvanises the team and the manager to produce a wonderful performance. If we win tonight I have made my point, if we lose he has made his point. All I can say is that in 17 years we sacked two managers at Birmingham. We are not sackers.

“We support managers and he is 100% secure. We will bring in players to improve the team in the summer.

“Birmingham are a very good side. I don’t see it as a grudge match or anything like that. I see this as just another game and one where we really do need to get three points.

“If you said at this moment in time who is the better team then statistically you would have to say Birmingham are the better team. But if you say who is the bigger club then all the statistics support that West Ham are the bigger club. I am very confident that over the next 14 games, the team will improve and we will claw our way up the table.”

Zola, who signed a £1.9m-a-year contract when he joined the club 17 months ago, said: “I am what I am and I believe in what I do and I think we can produce good results.

“I am too connected and tied up to the players. I have a relationship with them and the supporters. I do not like to leave a situation unfinished. The players are focused on the job.

“I am not here for the money. Last year when I signed a contract I didn’t even know how much I was going to earn. I had a plan and a project. It’s not about money. It is about working for something positive. I have always enjoyed working for this club. The money was something that came after.”

On Sullivan’s wage-cut plan being revealed in the media, Zola said: “It would have been better to talk to us before talking to a newspaper. That is my feeling. I think the article should have been done at another time, not just before a match.”

Zola did not rule out taking a cut and said he would discuss the matter with the owners, but he rejected Sullivan’s claim that he might be “too nice” to be successful.

“I am a person of principles and I am not going to allow anybody to walk on my principles,” he said.

West Ham UnitedDavid SullivanPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

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Jan 26

Portsmouth 1-1 West Ham United | Premier League match report

Gianfranco Zola had described himself as “an optimistic” in the build-up to this game but he might concede that an ­opportunity was missed. West Ham had threatened to haul themselves away from the stragglers, only to surrender their advantage late on and then struggle to retain even a point.

Relegation remains disconcertingly close and it was Pompey who will cling to signs of recovery here. There was polite applause from the locals at the final whistle, perhaps a sign of cautious optimism, though a period of frantic recruitment awaits both clubs ahead of the closure of the transfer window on Monday. The ­cavalry cannot arrive soon enough.

West Ham’s new owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, may have brought relative financial security after last week’s takeover – assurance that contrasts markedly with the on-going uncertainty eating away at Portsmouth – but they remain embroiled in a struggle against relegation and fear of the drop has dictated their transfer policy. West Ham continue to compete with Tottenham Hotspur to sign the Monaco striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, who played with Gianfranco Zola at Chelsea before moving to Barcelona, on a free transfer. More certain is the arrival of the Blackburn forward Benni McCarthy. A fee of around £2.5m has been agreed for the South African, who leaves Ewood Park condemned as “selfish and unprofessional” by Sam Allardyce after missing training as he sought to secure the move.

West Ham need the pair’s bite. With Carlton Cole’s’ recovery from a knee injury sufficient only for a return to the bench, the youngster Frank Nouble started this match. His best efforts were blunted by the brilliance of Asmir Begovic in the hosts’ goal. The Bosnian’s double save from Nouble and Alessandro Diamanti was stunning, but it was soon surpassed by his spring and touch to deny Jack ­Collison.

Those chances had come midway through an otherwise stale half, with Portsmouth just as frustrated to see Rob Green react smartly, in front of the England general manager, Franco Baldini, to save Aaron Mokoena’s skimmed attempt from distance. The goalkeeper was bypassed by Younes Kaboul’s volley from the resulting corner, but Mark Noble scrambled the attempt from the goal-line.

The locals craved the first goal, wailing in frustration as Hermann Hreidarsson and Kevin-Prince Boateng fizzed centres across the six-yard box with Frédéric Piquionne failing to make contact in the middle. That agony merely intensified when Diamanti drifted over a fine cross from the right flank which prompted panic and Kaboul, under intense pressure from Matthew Upson, saw the ball loop into his the net with Begovic stranded.

Confidence is so brittle in these parts that chasing a deficit felt daunting. Marc Wilson should have converted Angelos Basinas’ corner and Boateng’s miss at the far post, steering a shot wide after Julien Faubert had slipped, had the home support aghast. Piquionne’s departure with what appeared to be a hand injury moments later might have drained hope of recovery yet further, only for the Frenchman’s replacement, Danny Webber, to sprint on to John Utaka’s pass and, once clear of the visitors’ back-line, steer a low shot beyond Green. Pompey had their point and, for Gold and Sullivan in the stands, here was first-hand evidence of the size of the task ahead.

Premier LeaguePortsmouthWest Ham UnitedDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk

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Jan 25

Portsmouth’s players convinced they can escape relegation, says Aaron Mokoena

• Midfielder says game against West Ham United is vital
• Team have to build on FA Cup form at Fratton Park tomorrow

Portsmouth’s threadbare squad remain convinced that the club can still avoid relegation this season though there is recognition that victory against tomorrow’s visitors to Fratton Park, West Ham United, is essential to spark a revival.

The FA Cup has provided a timely three-match unbeaten run to offer Portsmouth hope of generating momentum on the pitch while the club remains gripped in financial crisis and discontent wells up among supporters. Avram Grant’s side are four points adrift at the foot, and without a league win in a month, but can move to within two points of safety by winning tomorrow night.

“It’s a massive game against West Ham, no arguments,” said the midfielder Aaron Mokoena. “We’ve won two games in a row, in the FA Cup, which is a compliment to the boys’ spirit, and now it’s a question of taking that form into the Premier League. It is still tight down there at the bottom. We have been written off time and again this season, but if we beat West Ham, we will be only two points from safety.

“That’s how massive this game is for everyone at the club, and it’s all about making sure we show up to claim those three points. I don’t think my own belief has ever wavered. Maybe it’s come close, but our strength is as a team. We are in this together and we’re prepared to face the challenges ahead. This game could be a turning point for us in the Premier League.”

Portsmouth’s players are due to receive their wages for January in the next week, with the club having failed to pay the squad on time on three separate occasions this season. Yet, while the board struggles to refinance the club and the manager continues to operate under a transfer embargo, the players have remained defiant.

“It’s important for us to give the supporters something to believe in,” added Mokoena. “But the fans, the players and the management staff all want the same thing – we’re in this together and we’ll get out of it together. We know we’ve got a mountain to climb, but we still have good players at the club and, if we give our best, then our belief will hold us in good stead. We showed our character against Sunderland under difficult circumstances, and we need to take that same character into the West Ham game.

“Last season, West Ham came down here on Boxing Day [in 17th place in the table] and won and they never looked back. That shows what can be achieved if you put a run of good results together and, hopefully, we’ll start one of our own on Tuesday.”

Grant, already without four players at the Africa Cup of Nations, could be left with a depleted substitutes’ bench tonight with Pape Bouba Diop having suffered hamstring damage at the weekend and Michael Brown forced from the field in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Sunderland with a back problem. The Israeli could fill only five of the seven places on the bench in that tie but will scrutinise what options are available to him tomorrow.

There remains the prospect of losing players before the transfer deadline, with Younes Kaboul and Nadir Belhadj, one of the club’s African contingent, expected to move on in the next week, though their departures may depend on the Premier League lifting their embargo, allowing Pompey to re-enter the market. David James, David Nugent and Mike Williamson should also complete moves to Stoke, Burnley and Newcastle respectively.

PortsmouthAvram GrantWest Ham UnitedPremier LeagueDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk

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