Source: PA
No rush over Upson deal - Gold
West Ham co-owner David Gold is not panicking about the prospect of losing Matthew Upson on a free transfer and would be happy to wait until the end of the season for the England defender to commit his future to the club.
Last month Hammers boss Avram Grant revealed the club had offered Upson an extension to his current deal, which is due to expire at the end of the season.
Upson is unlikely to put pen to paper on his new deal until West Ham's Barclays Premier League status looks more secure given that he will need to be playing top-flight football to make England's Euro 2012 squad.
Losing Upson would be a big blow to the Londoners, who have built their defence around the centre-half since he arrived from Birmingham in a £6million deal in January 2007.
But Gold insists he is not worried about his star defender's future. "I don't think there is any rush for Matthew to sign his new deal," said Gold. "He is now into the last year of his contract and doing it now or at the end of the season doesn't really matter to either side.
"Matthew is always welcome to come to me and talk about it. The fact that we're bottom of the league makes it a bit difficult but it's no rush for neither him nor us."
