West Ham legend Cottee backs Rob Green over incident

Former Hammers striker praises goalkeepers performance against Spurs

West Ham legend Tony Cottee has backed Robert Green over his arm gesture towards the press box last Saturday.

The England stopper has been under fire from some sections of the national press after last summers World Cup blooper, but put in a sterling performance between the sticks in the 1-0 win over Tottenham.

With feelings running high, Green was eager to let the written media know what he thought of them.

“I have not got a problem with what Robert Green did on Saturday, it was just emotion and passion coming through,” Cottee said.

“I hope the FA don’t pick up on what he has done and treat him harshly. Robert left the field on Saturday knowing that he played one of his best games in a Hammers shirt and after the treatment he has had in the press over the past few months, emotions were always going to be running high and tension would have been building up for a while.

“Yes, he made a high-profile error in the World Cup, but as a goalkeeper you have nowhere to hide if you make a mistake and what he did on Saturday was his way of reminding the media and everybody else that he is a good goalkeeper.

“I’m sure a lot of the press would have seen what happened out there and if I was one of those who had criticised him over the past few months, I would be saying fair play to him.”

For Tony Cottee’s thoughts on this Saturday’s match against Fulham see this Thursday’s East London Advertiser