Source: PA
Grant wants hard-nosed Hammers
Avram Grant has warned West Ham may have to start getting nasty with referees if they continue to pay the price for being a soft touch.
The Hammers have been on the wrong end of a string of bad decisions so far this season, the most recent being a disallowed Frederic Picquionne goal that cost them victory at Wolves last weekend.
Grant is convinced that teams who are "aggressive" towards match officials end up earning an advantage. And he admitted the bottom-of-the-table Hammers will have to consider a Jekyll and Hyde personality switch if things do not start improving soon.
"Everybody needs to be aware that teams who don't behave sportingly and always go to the referee have an advantage over teams that behave nicely," Grant said. "Last week it cost us two points and because there are so many decisions against us I start to think that because we are nice the other team has an advantage.
"I don't want to think it is because my players behave well and they don't jump on the referees and we on the bench are very sporting - but it is affecting us.
"It is not in my way to say 'Scott Parker, next time slide-tackle the referee' - but I will think about this if I see it continue. If it happens again in the next game, I think we need to think about this. I don't have a solution at the moment."
