Gold lost sleep over nightmare run

26 February 2014 16:17

West Ham joint-chairman David Gold has admitted to enduring sleepless nights as the club suffered a wretched run that resulted in the fans calling for the sacking of boss Sam Allardyce.

At West Ham's nadir this season they plunged into the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League on the back of a run which saw them pick up just two points from a possible 21.

Allardyce's side was then hammered 5-0 in the FA Cup third round at Nottingham Forest and 6-0 in the first leg of a Capital One Cup semi-final at Manchester City, ultimately bowing out 9-0 on aggregate.

Throw in captain Kevin Nolan's two red cards in less than four weeks in December and January, plus striker Andy Carroll's dismissal at the start of this month - a few weeks after his return from a long injury lay-off - and it is no wonder Gold suffered.

"I feel as though I've been to hell and back and I have suffered many, many sleepless nights," said Gold, speaking to Football Direct News.

"I have laid in my bed in the small hours staring at the ceiling considering the consequences for our great club and our fantastic fans. It was hard, very hard."

Four successive wins, however, have propelled the club into the top 10, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Gold feels vindicated for standing by Allardyce, adding: "There was so much talk about Sam losing the dressing room and all the rest of it, but it simply wasn't true.

"You lose the dressing room and the trust and respect of players when you lose confidence in yourself, and trust me, that is not part of Sam's psyche.

"He is a man with tremendous self-belief that can stray into and touch on arrogance, but that's usually the way with men who believe in themselves and the way they do things.

"I was, and am with Sam every day, and know how he works. I saw nothing in his character changing during those terrible days.

"He was utterly convinced we'd be okay when we got the injured players back.

"Others can make up their own minds whether we made the right decision or not - it's not our place to say.

"But I can tell you one thing - I'm sleeping well once again!"

Source: PA