Avram Grant defiant over future as West Ham manager
Grant insists he has the backing of co-owners Gold (left) and Sullivan
West Ham manager Avram Grant insists he will not alter his approach despite intense speculation over his future.
His position is under scrutiny once again, with the Hammers back at the bottom of the Premier League after their 5-0 thrashing at Newcastle.
But Grant said: "Despite all that has happened, we will continue with our vision. My way will stay the same way. I will not change.
"To live in this club is to live with the rumours," added the Israeli.
"It is a matter of what your boss is telling you and I have a good relationship with the owners [David Sullivan and David Gold].
"I don't think they are shy guys to tell me something else.
"When you sign a manager, you sign up to a philosophy and you have to know what you are doing. In this club, we know what we are doing, we know our vision for the short and long term."
Gold met with Grant at West Ham's training ground on Friday ahead of the FA Cup third-round tie against Barnsley, and the manager said their conversation was about strengthening the squad.
A new striker and a left-back are top of Grant's priority list - and he admitted West Ham will struggle to escape the relegation dogfight without new recruits.
"Everybody is aware of the financial situation. The owners took over the club in more than £100m of debt and they are doing everything to deal with this," he said.
"We need a stronger squad. We have a lot of long-term injuries and we will do everything to make the squad stronger because we need it, otherwise it will not be easy to continue like this."
Grant said he was surprised by the renewed speculation over his future following the Newcastle defeat, given that West Ham had picked up eight points from a possible 12 over Christmas and the new year.
"They say you are only as good as your last result but in our last five games we drew two and we won two," he said.
"You have to analyse the whole situation and the owners are happy."
West Ham's FA Cup home tie against Barnsley is followed on Tuesday by the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Birmingham, which is also being played at Upton Park.
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