The fact is I did not fail at West Ham Failure is not a word which Glenn Roeder would use to describe his stint in the West Ham hot seat. The Hammers were relegated in his absence at the end of the 2002-03 season despite a valiant effort by caretaker boss Trevor Brooking. Yet Roeder - back in charge at the start of the following season after recovering from serious illness - was confident of a rapid return from whence they came. He felt strong and capable. A wrong had to be righted. Even now as he reflects on what happened his face reveals traces of anger and pain. He chooses his words carefully but reiterates everything that's fact and not opinion. The points have to be emphasised lest those who chose to paint a distorted picture get away with it. "I don't consider myself a failure at West Ham," he emphasises. "I consider that I hit the post - and I'll tell you why. "Of course I was hugely disappointed when I was sacked. We'd played only four games, won two, drawn one and lost one. Yet it was arrivederci, I was gone. I didn't honestly see it coming. "My pride says that I was never allowed to finish the job. The biggest crime I'd obviously committed was being relegated. However, we'd got 42 points - that's right, 42 points. I don't believe another club will go down with so many. "A couple of years ago David Moyes, who I consider to be a brilliant young manager, finished on 39 points but survived and the following season qualified for the Champions League from fourth. They are facts. The season before West Ham were relegated we finished with 53 points, the third highest in the club's history. We were seventh. Another fact. "We often hear that the best three English coaches are Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley and Steve McClaren - well, if you take the two seasons I'm talking about and add all the points gained guess who comes out on top. I do. That's why I say I hit the post. "In our relegation season I lost my two goalscorers, key players, to injuries. Fredi Kanoute was a terrific finisher at home and Paolo di Canio was as good a player as I've ever worked with. He was touched by genius. "He was out for four months and Kanoute for six. I was left with a centre-half at centre-forward, Ian Pearce, and an 18-year-old lad Jermain Defoe. He was obviously going to be a great player but he was still a kid - and I don't know any manager who was asked to play in the Premiership with a centre-half as his main striker." Roeder continued in full flow: "West Ham are back up in the Premier League and I'm delighted. I'm an East End boy and the Hammers are an East End club. I grew up on Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. "99% of the people at Upton Park are diamonds but the 1% I will never forgive or forget. They know who they are. "The past is the past and I don't want to be seen as bitter but there are a few facts that are often conveniently forgotten. That isn't right. I still maintain that four games wasn't enough to sack me on when I'd only lost one. "After it happened I knew what people would think - that I wasn't right. Even though I was in great nick and bursting to go. I knew I wanted to stay in football and I'd always wanted to work at senior level in a football academy where I could do things my way and make my experience count. "At West Ham I always watched the juniors' evening training sessions and I knew all the lads' names - not many Premiership managers can say that. "I kept a low profile at first. I wanted to bide my time. But last summer I began letting people know I was around and as fit as a fiddle. "To come here to Newcastle where I spent five-and-a-half very happy and successful years has excited me no end." | 
