West Ham United have high hopes of promotion from the Championship but the severe cost of failing in that aim is as much of a motivation as the desire to make an immediate return to the Premier League. The co-chairman David Sullivan understands not just the allure but also the harm done if the club fails to get there. He knows that the goalkeeper Robert Green, an England international, would then be restless – just as Scott Parker was before his move to Tottenham at the beginning of the season.
“Green’s contract is up this summer,” said Sullivan. “We have made him a fantastic offer, subject to us [getting promoted and] staying in the Premier League. But if we don’t stay in the Premier League, we won’t be able to afford him and he won’t want to stay. So we have to go up.”
Sullivan, who took control of the club with David Gold in January 2010, has spoken frankly about his time at the club in an interview for wxxxhxxtxxidxx. The views of Sullivan are frank. He is scathing about Avram Grant but also scolds himself. “We picked a bad manager,” said Sullivan. “Simple as that. We are as much to blame as the manager.”
Grant could not preserve West Ham in the top tier but Sullivan recognises other factors, citing Demba Ba and Parker. “Those two alone should have kept us in the top flight,” he said, lamenting Parker’s plea for a move at the
