Source: Team_Talk
Grant not worried by Green gaffes
West Ham boss Avram Grant has declared himself unconcerned by the form of Rob Green ahead of Saturday's derby against Tottenham.[LNB] Green's summer was blighted by the horrific gaffe which handed the United States a valuable point in England's World Cup opener in Rustenburg.[LNB]Fabio Capello has not picked Green since and the 30-year-old's domestic performances have been far from the level which first led to him becoming England's number one.[LNB]A costly error against Chelsea and a fumble against Stoke last weekend have done little to ease the fears surrounding Green's ability to deal with the psychological pressure of being targeted by away fans during matches.[LNB]Czech Republic Under-21 stopper Marek Stech replaced Green in goal against Sunderland in Tuesday's Carling Cup win - West Ham's first of the season - but Green is expected to return against Spurs.[LNB]Grant seems baffled by the scrutiny over his number one's performances and is confident he will have a successful campaign. "Every player has their good days and their bad days," he said.[LNB]"I don't know of one player who is good all the time. It's especially bad with goalkeepers because everyone is watching but after five games I don't want people to make a judgement about Robert Green.[LNB]"I have a feeling that we will look back at the end of the season and say he had a good year."[LNB]Spurs and West Ham traded blows over the future of Scott Parker during the summer transfer window, with Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan accusing the north London outfit of unsettling their vice-captain with a £7million bid, which was rejected.[LNB]Grant, who used to work with Redknapp at Portsmouth, praised Parker for committing his future to the club by signing a new four-year contract, thus turning down the chance of a pay rise and the chance to play in the Champions League.[LNB]Grant said: "I am very happy he stayed. There's a lot of talk about money in football. I think money is important but I don't think it's everything.[LNB]"I don't want players who say: 'They are paying me more there so I will go or they're paying me less so I won't go there'.[LNB]"If you are a top player and you have big money you need to choose what is good for you and sometimes that is not to be in a big club - I was in a big club, I was in a bankrupt club.[LNB]"I think he made a good decision. It's not easy - remember that Scott was at a big club, he was at Chelsea."[LNB]The row between the two clubs did not sour the relationship between Redknapp and Grant which blossomed during a three-year stint at Fratton Park, where the current West Ham boss was director of football.[LNB]"Me and Harry, it's no secret we are friends," Grant said.[LNB]"Other clubs wanted Parker also. When you have a good player and they knew our financial situation they try to take advantage of this but I'm very happy.[LNB]"I knew that he wanted to stay. We want to build a team for the future and we need players like Parker."[LNB]Last week's draw at Stoke, which Grant missed on religious grounds, along with Tuesday's win at Sunderland has given Grant renewed optimism about his team's chances of survival this year.[LNB]"I think the atmosphere is much better (after the last week)," said the 55-year-old.[LNB]"It was good before the win but the most important thing is that we are improving now. We deserved more against Chelsea and then we played good against Stoke, where we could have won.[LNB]"We continued that progress against Sunderland - this is no coincidence. We are developing and I hope that this continues tomorrow. It will be a good game. Tottenham are a good team with a good manager."
