Dj: Fingers Crossed

David James is hoping that the injury list gets smaller this week ahead of the trip to Rotherham United on Saturday.

With Rufus Brevett sustaining an ankle injury - and Anton Ferdinand having a similar problem which ruled him out of the Sheffield United game - defenders are somewhat thin on the ground, though the return of Ian Pearce at the weekend was a risk that happily paid off, allowing Tomas Repka to move across to right back in the absence of Anton.

"One of the pre-season fears was losing players with such a small squad - hopefully Rufus is not too bad, and Anton isn't, so hopefully as the week progresses we will get a few more fit players," says David, who kept his first clean sheet of the campaign against the Blades.

Kevin Horlock, on his debut, was able to move from the midfield to left back when Rufus went off, and David adds: "Kevin did well. He is a decent player, looked very comfortable, and fitted in straight away - he will be a good addition to this team."

He admits it was a frustrating day on Saturday, adding: "One thing we have to appreciate this season is that we are one of the favourites to go up and teams are going to go to Upton Park to play for the draw first of all, and hoping to get something out of it, rather than last season when people were expecting to beat us.

"They are going to make it hard, and Sheffield United are a half decent side who fancy their chances of promotion anyway, which added to the difficulty of the day."

As for the protests from some fans, David's main concern is not to let it affect matters on the field.

"It is not for me to say. We are in a democratic state and we are allowed to air our views," he says, "and as a player of West Ham United Football Club all I can do is hope that their views are aired in the right way, with peaceful protest if you like, and that it doesn't affect what happens with the players' performance.

"They have a view and they want West Ham to succeed because they are fans. I am here to play football and beyond the performance it is out of my realm.

"I am all for protest if it is done right."