Source: Daily_Mail
So Avram Grant stays at West Ham...but can the wounds be healed?
Once Martin O'Neill rejected the chance to become West Ham's new manager, the Upton Park hierarchy were left with no option but to make their peace with Avram Grant. [LNB]The Israeli now looks likely to remain in charge for the rest of the season, having agreed to continue working with his players in the knowledge that his employers have been trying to recruit a replacement behind his back. [LNB] Pulled in both directions: Avram Grant still has a job but is aware of unrest in the boardroom[LNB]It leaves the club currently sitting at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League - and yet 90 minutes away from their first Wembley final in 30 years - in an extraordinary position. The relationship between Grant and Karren Brady, the vice-chairman who has been making the approaches to O'Neill and other managers on behalf of owners David Sullivan and David Gold, is particularly strained.[LNB]On Monday, Sportsmail understands, it was Brady's intention to try to rebuild bridges with Grant and discuss the way forward, both in terms of their working relationship and the recruitment of players during what remains of the January transfer window. [LNB]But given the simmering resentment that has built up over the last few weeks, Brady will have to be at her diplomatic best if she is going to heal this particular rift. [LNB]The pursuit of O'Neill has turned into a massive PR own goal for Brady and the club's owners, not least because of the shabby treatment Grant has received in the process. He has gained the sympathy and support of players, peers and from within the wider football community. [LNB] Pursuit: Karren Brady (left with David Gold) led the search for a new boss[LNB]Last night West Ham legend Julian Dicks accused Gold and Sullivan of turning the club into a 'laughing stock' over their failure to end the growing speculation over Grant's future. [LNB]Persuading O'Neill to come to Upton Park was always going to be difficult, especially when the Irishman responds to all such approaches with extreme caution. [LNB]But O'Neill was no different to other managers who were sounded out by West Ham, with Sam Allardyce and Martin Jol believed to be among them. They were consistent in telling the Upton Park hierarchy that they would need at least six new players to add some much-needed quality to the squad and so give themselves a chance of avoiding relegation. When those assurances could not be given the club was suddenly met with a distinct lack of interest in succeeding Grant. [LNB]Clearly, O'Neill and Co do not believe Grant's squad is strong enough to survive. O'Neill, it is thought, mentioned Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner as well as three other players who would have been beyond West Ham's budget. [LNB]For Grant, however, there will be other issues. It is understood text messages were sent to certain members of the playing staff asking for a personal assessment of the under-pressure Israeli. Far from providing it, they showed the text messages to members of the coaching staff. [LNB]Then there were the emails Grant is understood to have received from Brady. Emails that were said to have questioned his methods of management. Understandably, they were not well received.[LNB]Brady, hired by her former Birmingham City employers to spend two days a week working as the club's vice-chairman, would no doubt complain that she was merely the messenger acting on behalf of Sullivan and Gold.[LNB] But Brady has isolated others inside the club with some of her cost-cutting measures. It is understood that a club secretary who served Grant had her hours cut by two hours a day to save the club £300 a month, while a long-serving member of the training-ground staff - believed to earn around £200 a week - was fired before staff fought for him to be reinstated. [LNB]When reports that Grant was about to be sacked surfaced just hours before Saturday's Premier League defeat by Arsenal, angry players tried to contact Sullivan, Gold and Brady to establish what was happening, even as they sat in the dressing room less than an hour before kick-off. When there was no response, the players became more disillusioned. [LNB]Gianfranco Zola encountered similar problems, and such methods ended up costing the club dear. Only because of the way he was treated at the end did Zola push for the additional £1.2million pay-off he eventually received. [LNB]Grant has also had to contend with the club's failure to sign players. He thought he had secured Steve Sidwell on loan from Aston Villa - the player he had worked with at Chelsea had agreed personal terms and passed a medical - only for it suddenly to be blocked by Brady. Mark Noble's return to fitness was given as the reason. [LNB]Brady will no doubt try to tackle all these issues with Grant, but it seems unlikely they will be able to work together in the long term. If the manager is safe for now, Brady might yet have to consider her future. [LNB]A highly rated executive whose profile has risen with her role as adviser to Sir Alan Sugar on the BBC's The Apprentice, she is already believed to have other offers on the table.[LNB] West Ham stick with Avram Grant as Martin O'Neill turns down the chance to take over at Upton ParkWest Ham are a laughing stock! Grant must be backed or sacked, warns DicksAllardyce coy on replacing Grant at West Ham as axe hovers over boss WEST HAM UNITED FC
