Seb's Promise

Seb Schemmel is so confident that the Hammers will not get dragged into the relegation zone...he has threatened to cut his hair if it happens.

And he has not ruled qualifying for Europe, despite defeat by fellow Euro-hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday.

"I was very disappointed; I thought it would have been very possible to win the game, but I don't understand it," he says.

"We had the game in our hands and it is very bad for morale that we lost it; if we had won we could have been thinking about a UEFA place, but nothing is finished because we lost.

"The team didn't play too badly but two minutes into injury time they mounted a good attack; it wasn't a case of anyone making a mistake.

"The journey home was a long one, with nobody joking, just thinking about what went wrong, and nobody was speaking in the dressing room after the match because everyone was disappointed, none more so than Glenn who wanted to kill everybody!

"He said if we had won, we couldn't have been relegated and then we'd be playing for Europe, but when you see the way Paolo, Joe, and Trevor are playing I know there are no problems.

"If West Ham get in the relegation zone I will cut my hair - it is not possible; I don't want that, I only want to think about the top eight.

"We are seven points off Aston Villa and anything is possible; I know Glenn doesn't want us to play in the InterToto Cup but we can still finish in the top eight and get into those UEFA positions.

"If you look at it, Saturday wasn't a bad game like the one at Chelsea or Bolton, and if Joe Cole had scored 10 minutes before we would have won.

"There were maybe seven West Ham players in the box and only two from Aston Villa; it was a good goal for them."

As for the first of two successive home games, he says:

"There is pressure every time at home but with our fans at our stadium I'm sure it will be no problem; but personally I don't feel under pressure because the fans are behind us.

"Everton are playing not bad, not good, and if we play with the same mentality as we did against Middlesbrough it will be all right, and indeed in the away games too.

"It is not the end of the world because I know at home West Ham are a different team at Upton Park, and I think we can beat Manchester United as well.

"It is possible to get six points from the next two games - and I want to play in them.

"We are not the same team at home, not the same players - I don't know why."

In that, he may not be alone.