Reprieve for Avram Grant as he's given another seven days

Seven-day stay of execution: Avram Grant will lead West Ham against Arsenal
11 April 2012

Avram Grant will have to wait another seven days before finding out if he is to remain as West Ham United manager.

Grant's team beat Birmingham 2-1 in last night's Carling Cup semi-final, first leg despite having 10 men for the majority of the second half following Victor Obinna's red card.

Despite this, there was widespread speculation that he would be sacked following this afternoon's board meeting at Upton Park.

I understand, however, that Grant has been granted a seven-day stay of execution and will still be in charge for Saturday's London derby against Arsenal.

Both Martin O'Neill and Sam Allardyce have been linked with the manager's job and it could be that the East London club are continuing negotiations with their preferred choice.

Another possible reason for the decision over Grant's future being delayed is a split within the club's board over the Israeli, who was appointed last summer to succeed Gianfranco Zola.

Co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan have, up to now, remained supportive of Grant but they were dismayed by his team's Premier League capitulation at Newcastle last week when they were hammered 5-0 — a defeat which left West Ham back at the bottom of the table.

There was more friction over the weekend, when the club's vice-chairwoman, Karren Brady, revealed in her weekly newspaper column that she had vetoed the signing of midfielder Steve Sidwell from Aston Villa after Grant had announced the deal was almost done.

The boss hit back, saying that "one day perhaps I will have a column and talk about things", underlining the increased tension between the pair.

The seven-day breathing space will do little to reduce the speculation surrounding Grant's future as West Ham manager but will give him the opportunity to overcome the odds by beating Arsenal at Upton Park.

He gambled on his team for last night's semi-final against Birmingham, employing central defender Matthew Upson as an emergency left-back, picking the inexperienced New Zealander Winston Reid at the heart of the defence and playing Jonathan Spector, normally a defender, as an offensive midfielder.

The gamble worked, though, with Spector playing a part in both West Ham's goals and Reid performing adequately, despite being at fault for Birmingham's equaliser.

Grant, who had only 16 senior players available for the match, should have a much-needed boost on Saturday, though, with new loan signing Wayne Bridge available to make his debut.

West Ham have agreed to cover the former Chelsea's stars £85,000 per week wages for six months and pay a six-figure loan fee.

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