West Ham prepare to clear the decks
as relegation looms
It is a mystery why consecutive managers appear to have lost the
faith of the West Ham United players, but there is a consensus that
there will be a clear-out in the summer. Some 15 players have
joined the club since last summer and a complete team is likely to
be shipped out before the start of next season.
The five players signed permanently in January are believed to have
an escape clause in the event of relegation and Alan Curbishley,
the manager, has identified at least the same number whom he would
like to sell.
There is an air of resignation at Upton Park that the team are
highly unlikely to claw back the nine-point gap to safety, but
Curbishley will be given the chance to rebuild a team. He feels
that he is being judged on the squad of Alan Pardew, his
predecessor, even though he signed six players last month. But in
that case he will have to make an excellent start in the first
dozen matches of the next campaign or risk being under pressure
immediately.
If you look at our squad, we have got one hell of a team. If you
put that [West Hams best team] out in any game then we give
ourselves a chance as we have proved this season, but what we need
to do is achieve that more regularly.
Curbishley is likely to be able to pick his strongest defence
against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with Matthew Upson expected to
recover from a calf injury to partner Calum Davenport. Lucas Neill
is also expected to return from a knee injury. Davenport, who will
be playing against the club that sold him last month, said that the
players have reviewed the 4-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic on
Saturday.
It was unacceptable, he said. Maybe the first goal is offside,
but once thats gone in we basically crumbled. When we came out for
the second half, I looked up and I couldnt believe the fans were
still there.
