West Ham boss Avram Grant insists he has not been distracted by talk of his job being on the line.
The Israeli takes his side to Everton on Saturday having received a public vote of confidence by the West Ham board.
Yet last Saturday it appeared that Grant would lose his job, with Martin O’Neill reportedly being lined up to replace him.
But O’Neill apparently turned down the post, leaving Grant in charge of a side that are bottom of the Premier League having won just four times in 23 games.
Grant insists that he is not affected by the talk off the pitch and says the team is more important than his own future.
“”What’s happened has happened off the pitch and for me it belongs in the past,” said Grant.
“What’s important for West Ham, the fans and everybody is to concern ourselves with what happens on the pitch.”
“I feel that I need to do my job and we need to take points, because I believe we can get out of relegation.”
“My personal matter is not important. The team is more important than anybody.”
But Grant admits that he needs to make an impact in the January transfer window if his side are to survive, and has refused to rule out making a move for Joe Cole.
“There aren’t many days until the end of the transfer window, we have a lot of injuries and we need players to make the squad stronger,” he added.
“We have a few targets and I’m pretty sure that next week we’ll see new players. About Joe Cole, I’d be happy for him to be here. He was my player at Chelsea, maybe his best season then.”
And Grant is adamant that avoiding relegation is far from impossible for his side.
“It is possible,” he said. “We are two points from safety, there are 15 games to go.
“They aren’t easy games but they are possible to win. We want to do what we did before against Fulham, Wolves and Everton (when West Ham took seven points from nine) and take points. That is what we need.”
