Hammers boss Glenn Roeder has reiterated his comments bemoaning the lack of funds available to sign new players.
For the second time in the last seven days Roeder, who has been told by the board that he has no transfer budget ahead of the new season has talked of the lack of funds at his disposal.Having trimmed the squad by some 20% since May in an order to reduce the club's crippling wage bill, Roeder has so far added just two new members to the squad this summer - those being 39-year-old Raimond Van Der Gouw and teenage striker Youssef Soffiane, neither of whom are expected to be challenging for a first team spot in the coming season.
Speaking yesterday, he admitted that the situation was already somewhat precarious.
"We are woefully short when you look at the depth of the squad," he told the club's website.
"But I know the state of play, and I'll only be able to bring in a couple of new players.
"Ideally I'd like to sign at least four or five players of genuine Premiership quality - but this year I will probably have to settle for another two."
Those two players will inevitably be Bosman-type signings, although many of the better free transfers have already been snapped up since they became free agents at the end of June.
Roeder is thought to be keen to strengthen three vital areas of the team - the centre of defence, the left side of midfield and his attacking options.
But after being told that he can bring just two players in, the strikers berth is likely to be the one to give way, bearing in mind that the aforementioned Sofianne - who although totally inexperienced at this level - makes a fourth striker, behind Freddy Kanoute, Paolo Di Canio and 19-year-old goalscoring sensation Jermain Defoe, who will be expected (by the fans at least) to start the majority of matches this season.
The real worry is should the squad suffer one or two serious injuries - as occurred towards the end of last season - the club could be left in a difficult situation, with vary little experienced cover to call upon - in much the same way as the 96/97 season, when the club were forced to spend £5m on Paul Kitson and John Hartson in order to save the team from relegation.
No doubt the club could find the necessary funds in much the same way as that difficult period five years ago, but many fans - all too aware of the lack of investment which followed previously successful seasons such as those in 1985/86 and 1988/99 - are becoming increasingly frustrated at the apparent unwillingness by the board to make them available to the manager, who may well be experiencing a similar level of frustration, depending on which way you interpret his latest comments.
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