History suggests Roeder's reign not over

History shows that West Ham have never been a club to rush into sacking their manager even when the going gets tough.

Glenn Roeder is only the ninth manager the club have ever had, so the record books suggest the board will keep faith with him for as long as possible despite being at the foot of the Barclaycard Premiership.

Certainly, the fans have not lost faith in the manager – only in chairman Terence Brown and his board.

After last night’s 1-0 home defeat by Southampton, several hundred angry fans demonstrated outside the club’s Upton Park stadium.

However, rather than call for Roeder’s head, their banners read: “Brown Out” and there were chants of “sack the board”.

Brown, born in nearby Barking and a lifelong supporter, preferred not to comment on the angry scenes which followed the match but it is understood he has no plans to stand down.

A member of the club’s board since 1990 and club chairman since May 1992, Brown also has no intention of deflecting blame by sacking Roeder.

A section of fans believe Brown has failed to invest sufficiently in the playing squad but, in the club’s accounts for 2001-02, the West Ham chief spelt out the financial realities in his annual statement yesterday.

He wrote that while the club “do have many loyal supporters who genuinely struggle to come to terms with the new financial reality and tend to see a reluctance to spend and borrow recklessly as evidence of a lack of ambition, others are able to provide a more balanced view”.

Brown also pointed out that the club now has significant commitments to institutions over loans worth £33m for the new Dr Martens Stand, training ground and short-term borrowings.

Brown is an increasingly rare animal these days, in that he is a chairman who prefers to remain in the background. A chartered secretary and certified accountant by profession, he remains determined to plot a careful financial path through the current football recession.

While Roeder is well-liked and respected at Upton Park, one of the key factors which is likely to prolong his tenure is finance.

West Ham are not a rich club, and it would cost them money they can barely afford if they were to sack Roeder and pay off the remainder of the contract he signed earlier this year.

On top of that would be the cost of bringing in a new manager. If Roeder goes - and he reiterated last night that he had no plans to walk away himself – the first-choice replacement would be former Hammers player Alan Curbishley.

But Charlton would demand heavy compensation from Brown and his board if they were to try and prise away the Addicks boss. Then there is the issue of a lucrative salary for Curbishley, plus the carrot of some money to spend when the transfer window opens in January.

A less expensive option perhaps would be for West Ham to go for someone like Mick McCarthy, who is out of work following his decision to quit as manager of the Republic of Ireland.

There would be no compensation payment needed to secure McCarthy, and his salary terms are unlikely to be exorbitant, as he was not on a particularly big wage in football terms while in charge of Ireland.

West Ham’s already-thin squad is in need of a boost, and although the club cannot afford any permanent signings right now, Roeder has already identified a list of potential loan signings for when the transfer window opens, and has been given firm indications by the board that he can try to secure the two players he wants.

“We have been working hard for the last two months on targeting players and we have certainly got a decent list,” said Roeder.

“It is no secret that I would like to bring in a striker with some physical presence so that when Freddie Kanoute is unavailable we can maintain that physical presence in the attacking part of the team.

“If I can bring in more than one player and also bring in a defender, that would not go amiss.”

The good news is that having failed to win at home this season, the pressure will be off as Roeder’s team face successive away trips. The not so good news, however, is that those matches are against Middlesbrough and Manchester United.

West Ham will again be without Frederic Kanoute for the trip to Boro, as his groin injury is not yet strong enough for him to return to the first team, and it also looks likely that they will head to the north-east this weekend without skipper Paolo di Canio, as he twisted his knee last night and was due to have a scan today.

Di Canio, who has been accused of ducking the team’s difficult away trips up north in the past, has already suggested that West Ham fear the worst.

He said: “I don’t think it is an incredible injury, though what I feel it is two or three weeks minimum, even if I don’t need an operation.”

West Ham were watched by 28,844 fans against the Saints, their lowest home Premiership crowd of the season. Roeder said he was hurting as much as those supporters and vowed not to walk away from his job.

“It’s hurting me as much as any of our die-hard supporters,” said Roeder. “I understand the feelings of the fans because this is hurting me as much as it’s hurting them. This is where I grew up, so I know what the club means to the local people.

“I love my job and I won’t be quitting. We’re in a big hole at the moment but we can turn it round. I shall keep working to get it right. The players will keep working, too. Judging by the way they’ve played recently, they’ve got faith in me. We can get out of this together.”