It has been a busy few days for Premier League Managers with the merry go round now in full flow, we have seen Rafa Benitez leave Liverpool after six years in charge and now Avram Grant has been installed as the New Manager of West Ham United. Grant had been the favourite to take charge at Upton Park ever since Gianfranco Zola was sacked and that appointment has now been confirmed, the Hammers flirted with relegation last season but they battled through to their credit and now the former Portsmouth Manager will be expected to build on that performance. Grant was just about the only man to emerge from Fratton Park this last season as he kept his head to lead the debt ridden club to an FA Cup Final with the club falling apart around his ears, his work had not gone unnoticed and it has been clear for a while that he is a Premier League Manager.

It might be said though that Grant has jumped from the Frying Pan into the fire by taking the West Ham job with the Upton Park club also in financial difficulties and looking to cut costs at the moment, David’s Gold And Sullivan have made it clear that the wage bill will need to be slashed so it will not be easy for the Israeli when he starts work in July. Most of the first team squad at Upton Park are up for sale so Grant will need to prove himself shrewd in the transfer market this Summer with a number of his ex-Portsmouth players already being touted for moves to West Ham during the close season.

Grant will be under pressure at West Ham to improve on their form of last season with mid-table mediocrity set to be the minimum requirement for the team, for too long last season they were in a relegation battle and that will be something the New Manager will need to avoid next season. In Sullivan and Gold, West Ham have owners that prefer to back the Managers they have employed so we are expecting Grant to be given some time to build his squad although they are a club that cannot afford to get relegated anytime soon. Grant has shown battling qualities throughout his time at Chelsea and Pompey and he will need those skills once again at West Ham as he looks to build the Hammers into a top Premier League club.

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