Americans declare interest in stricken Hammers

IT is often said of West Ham that they turn more corners in a season than the average Formula One driver, but Gianfranco Zola is adamant that the club is now on an upward curve, despite their worst start to a Premier League campaign.

On the face of it, such optimism appears horribly misplaced. This defeat kept the Hammers second-bottom of the table with just five points from eight matches, having not won since the opening day of the season.

Off the field, things are no prettier, with the club nursing debts of £100 million (€110m) and facing the prospect of having to sell players in January. Yet, for all that Zola remains perky in his outlook. This performance deserved more than James Beattie’s late winner for Stoke, and there was even some good news on the financial front, with a Wall Street-backed consortium, the Intermarket group, declaring an interest in buying the club.