Grant wants Parker to pen new deal

West Ham manager Avram Grant is confident he can hold on to his midfield maestro Scott Parker.

The Hammers captain has been linked with several clubs, including Tottenham, as the transfer window nears its close.

But Grant is certain Parker will sign a new contract and stay at Upton Park to inspire a new wave of youngsters from the West Ham academy.

Parker scored the late goal, deep into injury time, which secured West Ham’s first win of the season in a 1-0 victory against Oxford in the second round of the Carling Cup.

The psychological importance was obvious to a West Ham team struggling for confidence after two successive defeats in the Premier League.

But keeping Parker is even more crucial, according to Grant.

“Scott Parker is very important,” said Grant.

“He is a very good player who is always fighting and giving everything, He is clever.

“I am confident that I want him in the team. He is going to sign a new contract, but normally I do not want to be involved in the money situation.

“As far as I know Scott is happy here. We want to develop young players but we need experienced players who are very positive.

Scott is very important for us because he is one of the experienced players who have a good influence on the others.”

Grant revealed he speaks to Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp almost on a daily basis but they have not discussed Parker.

“Harry didn’t tell me anything and I spoke with him today and he is my friend and I am sure he would have told me,” said Grant.

“We just spoke about wine and things.”

Grant’s priority before the transfer window closes is signing a right-back, but money is scarce at Upton Park.

Owners David Sullivan and David Gold have spent £8m on five new players this summer and one of their prized assets may have to move to free up cash for Grant.

With the club wanting to keep Parker, attention has turned on to striker Carlton Cole, who came on as a substitute against Oxford and missed a penalty in last weekend’s defeat against Bolton.

There has been interest from clubs such as Stoke and Sunderland but clubs are reluctant to match West Ham’s £15m valuation.

Grant said: “We need more players. We have a long-term programme and part of it is to try to change players and bring in others.

We are searching through hundreds of offers but we have to find the right one. We have financial problems and have to return the debts we have. We all know that we have a long way to go until we put our club in the position that we want.”

The next tests could not be more daunting, with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday and Chelsea at home in the Premier League the following week.

Grant insists his team will not be intimidated.

He said: “Manchester United are a very good team and it will be a good challenge for us. I want to see the team try to play football and keep fighting. It will not be easy at Old Trafford but it will not be easy for them either.”