Avram Grant

The Hammers are currently bottom of the Premier League, having taken just one point from their opening five games, with a 1-1 draw at Stoke last time out.

The East Enders began their season with a 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa before Bolton took all three points with a 3-1 victory at Upton Park.

A 3-0 defeat away to Manchester United followed while league-leading Chelsea then secured a 3-1 victory over the Irons.

Scott Parker scored in the 32nd minute to give West Ham the goal they needed to secure their first point of the season at the Britannia Stadium last weekend and they followed that up by beating Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light to continue their progress in the Carling Cup.

Despite the club’s current predicament, the manager remains upbeat about his side’s prospects this term and feels that the way they have played at times this season is not reflected in their current league position.

“I am very optimistic about the future of this club. We know what we are doing, we have a vision about this club and I am optimistic about it,” he told the East London Advertiser.

“If you have seen our games, this is not the place for us. but we need to take points. We have a long, long season. I think it will be very hard, but it will be possible. But it is very frustrating when we play so well but don’t take three points.”

Grant will welcome Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham to east London on Saturday, with Spurs currently in fifth place in the table after an up-and-down start to their campaign (West Ham 13/5 – 90 minutes).

The Israeli coach will take heart from the fact that Wigan took all three points from the north Londoners just four weeks ago and Arsenal’s young side beat them 4-1 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night.

Both Victor Obinna and Frederic Piquionne opened their scoring accounts on Tuesday against the Black Cats and Grant was impressed by what he saw from one to 11 in the north east.

“They worked very hard, they moved very well and they played well together – but all the team behind them played well,” he added.

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Avram Gran

The former Portsmouth and Chelsea coach took over at Upton Park in the summer after the Hammers board decided to sack Gianfranco Zola following their brush with the drop.

The east London side narrowly avoided relegation last year and had hoped with Grant at the helm they would be challenging for a place in the top half.

However, so far it hasn’t worked out for Grant’s men, losing their first two matches in the Premier League.

West Ham (40/1 Carling Cup Outright) are one of three teams without a point from their opening fixtures and could easily have been on the wrong end of a cup upset on Tuesday night.

They welcomed League Two side Oxford to Upton Park expecting to roll over the Yellows and boost their confidence ahead of this weekend’s match against Manchester United.

Instead they had to rely on skipper Scott Parker to get them out of jail again with a 90th-minute winner after surviving a number of close shaves.

Despite West Ham getting their first win of the season under their belts Grant was unhappy with the manner of their performance and pointed to the players’ delicate mindset as to why they are currently struggling.

“Mentally it is not just because it is the first win but that we did it in the last moment,” said Grant. “This team carried a lot of psychology problems.

“When everything goes well we are OK, when it does not we are a bit nervous.”

The Israeli will be desperate to get his player’s heads right ahead of this Saturday’s match against Manchester United (1/6 to beat the Hammers) at Old Trafford.

West Ham have won one of their previous seven meetings at the Theatre of Dreams, shipping nine goals in their last three matches there.

With a match against champions Chelsea to come the week after Grant is hopeful that Tuesday’s victory will give his side a much needed confidence boost.

“Tonight [Tuesday] they saw that if you don’t give up and keep trying to do the right things you can score in the last moment,” he added.

“When you play against a team not from our league they will always defend. I liked that the players continued to pass the ball and were not crazy to score.

“We are in the next round and that is the most important thing.”

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Newly appointed West Ham boss Avram Grant is hoping to bring the good times back to Upton Park and is looking forward to the challenge of next season.

The Hammers struggled last season under the leadership of Gianfranco Zola and only managed to secure their place in the Premier League with a couple of games to spare.

Zola was axed by co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan as soon as the season was over and it soon became clear that Grant was the man they wanted.

Slaven Bilic, Sam Allardyce and Ian Holloway had all been linked with the job but Grant was always hot favourite to take the job as soon as his duties with Portsmouth came to an end.

The Israeli worked wonders under very difficult circumstances at Fratton Park and even though they were relegated after being deducted nine points for going into administration, he still managed to guide them to the FA Cup final before losing to Chelsea.

Grant admitted that leaving Pompey was always going to be tough after building up a great relationship with the fans and he will be looking to do that again at Upton Park with the Hammers faithful.

“I’m proud and honoured to be the manager of West Ham. It’s an exciting challenge and I’m ready to do my best,” Grant told the club’s official website.

“West Ham is a fantastic club with great fans and a history that is respected around the world. I’m already looking forward to getting to work with my players in July and preparing for the new season.”

Grant now has the job of making sure the Hammers are nowhere near the drop zone next season and if he gets the backing of the board, he should be able to get the club moving in the right direction.

The former Chelsea boss inherits a squad of talented players that boasts the likes of Matthew Upson, Carlton Cole and Scott Parker and he will be hoping to keep hold of his star trio before adding to his ranks.

The board have said everyone apart from Scott Parker is up for grabs but Grant will want to keep his key men if he is to get the Hammers pushing for the top 10.

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Avram Grant

The 55-year-old is the favourite to take the Upton Park post having seen his Pompey side lose in their second FA Cup final in three seasons.

Grant said that leaving the troubled south-coast cloub was one of the most difficult decisions he has to take in his football career so far.

He said: “After a lot of soul searching and under the circumstances, I’m taking a different direction.”

“Portsmouth has given me a feeling of home away from home. I might be leaving Portsmouth physically, but you cannot take Portsmouth away from me and my heart,” he added.

If the Israeli does arrive in at the Boleyn he will take over a side that just avoided relegation last season under former manager Gianfranco Zola.

The Italian was sacked at Hammers manager on May 11 and since then the club, under the chairmanship of David Sullivan and David Gold, have been in the process of selecting a new boss.

Reacting to speculation about Grant, a club spokesman said: “West Ham United can confirm the club is making good progress in the search for a new manager and the appointment will be made by early June.

“The club is in the middle of a thorough selection process which could continue over the next 12 days before being finalised.

“The new manager will then have a month to prepare for the start of pre-season, with all at the club determined to improve on the previous campaign.”

Portsmouth are now in the process of finding a new manager with reports suggesting goalkeeper David James has said he would like the role.

The club’s administrator, Andrew Andronikou, has said that the England goalkeeper, who is likely to be on the plane to South Africa for this summer’s World Cup, has expressed an interest in becoming involved with management.

However, Andronikou did add that the club feel it may be a bit early for James, who will be asked for his input on the new manager, to be considering because he still is performing well on the pitch.

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