Magnusson refuses to contemplate drop

West Ham’s new chairman Eggert Magnusson insists he has no fears about the club facing relegation this season.

The Icelandic businessman officially took over as chairman from Terry Brown yesterday and is expecting West Ham to surge up the table from their position just a place above the bottom three.

Magnusson said: “My ambition is to finish in mid-table and take it from there next season.

“I think we are good enough to be in a much better position than we are at the moment and hopefully we will have some improvement over the rest of the season.

“I am not worried. I honestly think we are far too good to go down and it’s a long season and there are many points to be won.”