Players need to fight for the club who they represent

It’s finally over and Avram Grant will remain until the end of the season. At least that’s the current line.

In the past the club has contrived to put its supporters through the ringer with the Emmanuel Omoyinmi fiasco and the Carlos Tevez affair; but where those two were examples of gross administrative incompetence.

This latest affair had an altogether more insidious nature, and the ramifications of the whole unedifying saga could be massive for the club. If indeed they are, all of the major players in this particular East End drama will find forgiveness in short supply amongst the frustrated Hammers faithful.

After a week where so much has been written, it feels futile commenting further when what is true and what is not is unclear – suffice to say that the whole affair has been handled abysmally by those in the corridors of power at Upton Park - and it is perhaps a more pertinent point to wonder where exactly the board, Avram Grant and the doubtless-confused players go from here.

The choice for the Upton Park board is stark. Invest heavily or be relegated. Whatever Grant’s shortcomings, and there are many, the squad he has is not good enough and fresh faces are needed.

Having wasted the first half of this window on the managerial debacle, attacking the remaining fortnight of the window might go some way to appeasing fans that are justifiably baying for blood at present. If they are not aware then they should be, that what transpired this week is totally unacceptable at this football club. Over to you, Mr Sullivan and Mr Gold.

And what of Avram Grant? The Israeli’s failings are well documented, and sadly played out for all to see on a weekly basis; but few would argue with the fact that he has conducted himself with great dignity whilst the farcical backroom shenanigans played out. He showed, too, a stomach for a fight that perhaps Hammers fans had not seen before and it’s vital that he doubles his efforts in transmitting that to his players.

One wonders what the players have really made of all this.

They are said to be ‘disappointed’, ’confused’ and ’furious’ at recent events. Good. After a couple of years without anything, the players and the supporters finally have something in common. That is not intended to sound flippant, in the last two seasons (aside from very obvious shining examples) there has been a chasm between the team and the supporters, and it’s been one that has proved difficult to bridge.

Relegation battles have brought the best out of supporters and players alike in recent years, and it is vital that this situation does so again.

From now until the end of the season, they must put recent events and their frustration at them aside and remember only that they are representing West Ham United Football Club.

Not the owners, not the manager, but the Football Club and all it stands for . 116 years of history. 116 years of tradition. 116 years of hard work by thousands of people including the likes of Moore, Greenwood and Lyall to establish the reputation of the club as one that does things the right way; with dignity, style and class. 116 years of loyal support from the most passionate supporters in the land. Supporters who must play their part together with the team in carrying the club to safety.

Supporters who deserve better than what they have been put through this past fortnight.