Former West Ham coach Stuart Pearce has revealed on talkSPORT he did not see David Sullivan or Karren Brady once during his recent seven-month spell at the club.
The former defender was on the backroom staff of David Moyes as they helped steer the Hammers to Premier League survival with a 13th-place finish.
Pearce explained on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast programme on talkSPORT on Friday morning (8am) how his only face-to-face dealings were with co-owner David Gold and none at all with his two chief boardroom allies Sullivan and Brady.
“I never met Mr Sullivan or Karren Brady in the seven months I was there, not once,” Pearce said. “If I owned a football club or any organisation, I’d like to think I’d make it my business to welcome new faces who joined.
“Unless they decided Mr Gold is going to be the face of the board. And, to be fair, he is very personable. He’d pop down to the training ground and to the dressing room after games. From a personal point of view, I never met two of the three in the seven months.
OPINION
It is quite extraordinary that Pearce did not meet Sullivan or Brady once in over half a year at the club. Broadcaster Brazil’s stunned reaction to Pearce’s revelation makes that abundantly clear. The co-owner and managing director have huge public profiles and are forever dropping titbits to various media in an attempt to show themselves and the club in the best possible light. Indeed, Brady probably has more newspaper and magazine columns that perhaps any other football director in world football, let alone the Premier League. Quite why the pair could not find the time to say hello, or just have a chat, with a prominent member of the coaching staff, and a key ally of the manager, will disturb even fans well use to a board that appears utterly chaotic from a distance. If they’re not willing or able to even slightly support the manager and his coaching staff, that is telling. Their priorities clearly lie elsewhere.
