West Ham United's chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan have released an open letter in support of their beleaguered manager Sam Allardyce in the wake of the club's embarrassing 0-5 reverse to Championship outfit Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
"We know Sam has not lost his ambition or desire and is committed to making West Ham United a great Premier League club"
The letter went on to state:
"It is never enjoyable being knocked out of a cup competition and losing by such a large scoreline to a lower division side is hard to take for us all. We thought the youngsters gave their all and did not stop trying, but in the end Nottingham Forest's experience proved too much for us. I know Sam would have loved to have put out a more varied side, with our talented youngsters accompanied by more senior players in the starting XI.But many key players are out injured and Sam has been handed a near impossible task of coming through three crucial games in the space of six days with a squad of only 14 fit and available senior players. This is not an excuse, it is a fact."
The result was a culmination of an extremely poor run of form by the Hammers, who have won just one of their last 13 Premier League clashes, and are now in 19th position with less than half of the fixtures left to play. Their injury and suspension list is staggeringly long, with Andy Carroll, Mark Noble, James Tomkins, James Collins and Winston Reid all sidelined with foot and leg complaints, Ricardo Vaz Te nursing a dislocated shoulder, and Kevin Nolan serving a 3-match ban following his red card on New Year's Day. However, the chairmen did hint that replacements are on the way very soon.
January is not an easy time to do business but we are pleased to confirm we are close to securing one of our key striking targets. A defender is high on the list of priorities as well and progress is being made on that front."
The towering Monaco striker Lacina Traore, who is more than 2m tall, is rumoured to be closing in on a loan move to Upton Park, while defenders Johnny Heitinga, Joleon Lescott, and Roger Johnson have all been linked with moves to East London as well.