- West Ham are 7/1 to beat Blackburn 2-0 at home for the third
straight time -
Click for full odds with Surrey Sports.
Steve Lomas is delighted that the speculation surrounding Paolo Di Canio has now ended.
Steve says of his vice captain:
"Obviously it is something that the club needed to address one way or another, and it is no good every day having people in the press saying it is not resolved, so hopefully that will be the end of it now."
Steve himself was the subject of transfer speculation last season when his old club Manchester City and Everton both were given permission to talk to him, and he says:
"Mine was maybe different circumstances where the manager probably wasn't as open with me as I was with the club; but these things happen and it is no different at any other club.
"It is not good to be unsettled and I'm sure it's not been good for Paolo, but it is not difficult because you are still a professional and you still want to do well.
"But it does affect your psyche a little bit, in terms of not really knowing one way or the other, and I think Man Utd are a little to blame for this as well.
"They have been publicly strong on it and it is a bit strange because if they really wanted to do the deal I'm sure funding wouldn't be a problem.
"Why did they have to wait to get rid of Dwight Yorke when they sold Andy Cole?
"That has made this issue drag on a little bit longer - you would have thought a team like Manchester United with their resources could do something if they really wanted to do it.
"Alex Ferguson came out and said he wanted him but it has hung around an awful lot, and indirectly hasn't helped us."
Glenn Roeder is also pleased that the speculation is at an end and says:
"It was linked to the Dwight Yorke move to Middlesbrough and that has not happened, so we can get on with our lives - it has dragged on too much and become a saga.
"We have such a small squad we didn't want to lose him in the first place."
Talking of his performance on Wednesday, he adds:
"I thought as usual he did some clever things and when we asked him to play on the left when Jermain came on he stuck to his task; it is difficult for him to play in midfield but he stayed out there.
"But we didn't get the ball out to him as often as we would have liked."
As for Saturday, he says:
"I am concerned about our position and we certainly need to win this home game against Blackburn."
Meanwhile, Steve thinks the side will be fired up for the match following the 7-1 hammering earlier in the season.
"It must have been a terrible journey home and something I hope they haven't forgotten, so hopefully they will go that little bit further to grind out a result," he says.
"Upton Park has been a very strong place for us - as it needs to be with the away performances at the moment."