Player exodus backons for Hammers

West Ham managing director Paul Aldridge was quick to promise there would be no “fire sale” following the club’s relegation from the Barclaycard Premiership.

But the reality could be somewhat different as the east Londoners come to terms with the loss of up to £20m (€27.8m) in revenue.

For starters, nine players are out of contract this summer and none of them are likely to be kept on as the cost cutting begins at Upton Park.

On top of that, the Hammers have another seven players who would walk into most Premiership teams and are certain to be targeted.

West Ham’s regular first-team squad comprises 28 players, so losing 10 or more of those players will leave the club with a massive rebuilding job, especially as they will play 46 games in the First Division as opposed to 38 in the Premiership.

The club expect to save about £10m (€13.9m) in wages from players who are at the end of their contracts, the most notable being Italian striker Paolo Di Canio, who is reputed to have been earning in excess of £35,000 per week.

Other players whose contracts end this summer include Nigel Winterburn, Raimond van der Gouw, Scott Minto, John Moncur, Gary Breen, plus Les Ferdinand and Lee Bowyer, both of whom had signed short-term deals.

Then there is Edouard Cisse who was on a one-season loan from Paris St Germain.

Players such as Don Hutchison and third choice goalkeeper Stephen Bywater might find themselves surplus to requirements if the club can offload them.

Of the big-name players, goalkeeper David James and captain Joe Cole may want Premiership football to enhance their England ambitions while Frederic Kanoute, Trevor Sinclair, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson could be coveted by bigger clubs.

West Ham do not of course have to sell all those players, but they can expect to lose at least two and will need decent transfer fees in order to rebuild their squad.

The one grain of consolation for West Ham if they do lose all that talent is the millions of pounds in transfer fees they can expect for players who are still under contract.

Another factor which might help them keep best players is that other clubs could be reluctant to match their salaries.

On the plus side, West Ham have a few promising youngsters coming through the ranks, most notably Anton Ferdinand – the younger brother of Rio – and fellow defender Elliott Ward.

Players like that will be important if the club are to fulfil their aim of immediate promotion.

“It is a very delicate balancing act but we want to give ourselves every opportunity of coming straight back up,” said Aldridge.

“We have to sit down and carefully do the sums but the banks have been very supportive and there will no fire sales at West Ham United.

“It has been a traumatic season for everyone but now we know our fate we can start planning for next season.

“There are some difficult decisions to be made, in all areas of the club, and we will be sitting down this week to discuss how we can move forward from here.

“There are lessons to be learned from what has happened but the one thing we are all agreed on is that we want to go straight back up to the Premiership.

“I am sure there will be offers coming in for some of our players but, as yet, there have been none. Clearly some will go but we have to plan for 46 matches next season and we will not allow the squad to be decimated.

“We want to give ourselves the best possible chance of bouncing back at the first attempt.”

Aldridge and caretaker manager Trevor Brooking will meet boss Glenn Roeder - who will keep his job despite relegation – at some point this week, to decide a plan of action for the summer.

Roeder is due to have brain surgery at the end of the week from which he is expected to make a complete recovery but it is imperative that Brooking and Aldridge have a mandate to act during his two-month recovery.