Avram Grant has been appointed manager of West Ham on a four year deal, subject to a work permit

Avram Grant has been appointed manager of West Ham on a four year deal, subject to a work permit.

Grant quit as Portsmouth manager on May 21 and returned from holiday yesterday to finalise the deal.

The Israeli had long been the favourite to replace previous incumbent Gianfranco Zola and the club are delighted with the appointment.

David Sullivan said: "I am delighted to welcome Avram to West Ham and am confident he will prove a success. We have taken our time over this appointment and are certain we have got the right man.

"We are all looking forward to next season with new players coming in and Avram's arrival is just the latest reason for real optimism."

David Gold said: "I have to say that having met Avram and spent some time with him that we have got our man. He is a perfect fit.

"We needed experience and stability. He is a footballing man and quite frankly his reputation speaks for itself. He has a great sense of humour and I am sure the players will relate to him and the fans will warm to him."

"After an hour, we knew we could work with this manager. We are very optimistic," Gold added."I think it's time for the football club to get some stability with people that have been there, done that and got the T-shirt.

"The bottom line is the relationship between the manager and the chairman is critical.

"In our case it's two chairmen so it's even more difficult as you need to have a relationship between three people."

Grant is expected to bring his own team and as reported in the Advertiser last week, Zola's assistant Steve Clarke is likely to be out of the door.

"We are over the worst at West Ham, we've found most of the skeletons in the cupboard and are looking forward to a bright, exciting future," Gold said.

"Like all managers, our new manager will bring his own people in, and we are comfortable with that."

The club are desperate for a fresh start after last years debacle and sacked Zola after he led them to 35 points and one place above safety.

"We can't put our fans through that again. We want to put together a team that was better than last year," said Gold.

"We were very fortunate. Normally 35 points gets you relegated.

"What we need is a manager who has achieved, has experience. We are not in a position where we can take on young, inexperienced managers.