West Ham United Football Club News

• Nickname:Hammers
• Founded:1895
• Manager:Sam Allardyce

• Ground:Upton Park
• Capacity:35,595

Upson wades into Sullivan row

26 Mar 2010 - 07:51:30

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West Ham United captain Matthew Upson claims the players will listen to under-pressure manager Gianfranco Zola and not outspoken co-owner David Sullivan.

Sullivan has made headlines after he wrote an open letter to the club's fans in the aftermath of Tuesday's 3-1 defeat to Wolves criticising the team and the relegation danger they find themselves in.

However, Upson has described Sullivan's words as "irrelevant" and has backed under-pressure manager Zola to silence his critics by keeping the ailing Hammers in the Premier League this season.

"If David Sullivan wants to air his views on the club's website or in public then he does so - he's the chairman," said Upson.

"I wouldn't say, from a player's point of view, that it helps.

"But we only concentrate on what we feel is wrong and how the coaches and manager assess the game, what they want us to do.

"And that's what we'll do, because they're in charge of the situation. They're the people we want to listen to."