Respect Avram Grant's absence for Yom Kippur, West Ham fans are told

16 September 2010 08:48
West Ham have urged fans to respect manager Avram Grant's decision not to take charge of Saturday's Barclays Premier League match against Stoke City as he observes the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. [LNB]Grant, 55, will pick and prepare his side but will not travel to the Britannia Stadium as bottom of the table West Ham try to earn their first points of the season after four straight defeats. [LNB]Serbian Zeljko Petrovic will take control of team affairs on the day. [LNB] Away: Avram Grant will miss West Ham's encounter at Stoke[LNB]Over Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement Grant is expected to fast for 25 hours and spend the day in continuous prayer for forgiveness.[LNB]A West Ham statement said: 'West Ham United fully respect and understand the situation. It is very unusual for the day to clash with the fixture list. The manager will pick and prepare the side as usual and fully ensure that all are ready for the match this weekend.' [LNB] The only way is up: Grant consults with Scott Parker during the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea[LNB]Petrovic, 44, arrived at Upton Park in the summer, having previously worked as a No 2 to former Tottenham boss Martin Jol at Hamburg.[LNB]Before that he had spells in charge of Boavista in Portugal and RKC Waalwijk in Holland. He was a former team-mate of Diego Maradona's at Sevilla in the early 1990s, where he played as a defensive midfielder. [LNB]After being appointed as Chelsea manager on Thursday September 20, 2007 Grant stayed at home on the Friday and Saturday to observe the holy day, missing the preparations for his first match against Manchester United on the Sunday, which Chelsea lost.[LNB] West Ham confirm Grant will miss clash with Stoke on Yom Kippur Ben Haim could join Grant in missing Stoke clash because of Yom KippurWEST HAM UNITED FC

Source: Daily_Mail