Soccer:West Ham manager Avram Grant believes Robbie Keane and his other January signings will help the London club rebuild and climb their way out of relegation danger.
Keane is likely to be thrown into immediate action and could form a front-line strong alongside Victor Obinna, who has run into goal-scoring form of late, and Frederic Piquionne, the Hammers’ leading scorer.
“I’m really happy to have him (Keane). He can help us a lot and brings plenty of quality,” said Grant of the 30-year-old Republic of Ireland captain.
Keane, who has scored 45 goals in 104 internationals for the Republic and is initially on loan until May, said: “I feel as fit as I ever have done in my life and I feel I have plenty left to offer at the highest level for at least the next four or five years.
“I want to help anywhere I can whether that is in training, in the dressing room or on the pitch on a match day. I am sure we can stay up.”
Obinna, on loan from Inter Milan, scored a hat-trick in West Ham’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup fifth round yesterday then dedicated it to the supporters. However the 23-year-old admitted he let himself down by being sent off in the Carling Cup semi-final against Birmingham.
“I was very stupid,” said Obinna. “It happens in football but I apologise to the fans about that. I was mad with myself after the game because I left my team-mates with 10 men.
“I take full responsibility for that and it is definitely something that will never happen again.”
Grant, who spent most of the last month fighting for his job, has added Keane, Demba Ba, Gary O’Neil and Wayne Bridge to a squad which was decimated by injuries in the first half of the season.
Now he is hoping the freshness and extra impetus will pay off immediately in three crucial Premier League games, against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday, against Birmingham at home next Sunday and away to West Brom the following Saturday.
“The squad is not bad but because of the injuries we’ve had we needed more players for competition and fresh legs,” added the manager. “We had injuries in the first half of the season. Things didn’t go for us. We were looking for players to make up the 18 on match day so it was very difficult.
“The next game is very important to us. Against Blackpool the players will give everything they have. It is important for both teams but for us it is more important.
“Then we take on Birmingham. Both are teams near to us in the table so it is vital to pick up points. We will approach those games with confidence especially if we can sustain the football we have played in recent games.”
