West Ham United co-owner David Gold has played down concerns that talks have not yet started with England defender Matthew Upson over a new contract.
The 31-year-old centre-back’s current deal runs out at the end of the season, but Gold says that there is no rush to start negotiations just yet.
He said:”I don’t think there is any rush for Matthew to sign his new deal.
“He is now into the last year of his contract and doing it now or at the end of the season doesn’t really matter to either side.
“Matthew is always welcome to come to me and talk about it. The fact that we’re bottom of the league makes it a bit difficult, but it’s no rush for him or us.”
Meanwhile, Gols remains adamant that a key target of his tenure is to stop the trend of the Hammers’ best talents leaving Upton Park.
He added:”Our stance is that we do not sell our best players. That’s what we said when we joined the football club.
“We are trying desperately to reverse that policy. Can we achieve it 100 per cent? Of course not, but what we can do is do our most to change that philosophy.
“We don’t want to sell our players. We want to build a team that is a force to be reckoned with.”
