Green shoots of recovery for happy Hammers

WHEN Avram Grant talks about wanting ‘hungry’ players, he is not thinking of the overweight Benni McCarthy so much as the fired-up Robert Green.

The way Green celebrated West Ham’s win over Tottenham, the first since the Hammers denied Spurs a place in the Champions League four years ago, showed the passion that bubbles under the surface of the goalkeeper.

Green is not one of football’s most excitable men, and indeed most managers want their goalkeepers to keep a cool head and emotions in check when they are on the pitch.