Glenn Roeder has denied reports that he has made a £6m move
for Bulgarian striker Georgi 'Gonzo' Ivanov.
"It's nonsense," he insists, "there is nothing to say because it is another agent-driven story to use West Ham as vehicle to find Ivanov a club in England.
"I know who the agents are, in fact there are two or three that are supposed to be acting for him, and they are using us.
"I don't like it but there is nothing we can do about it; it's the way football works now.
"I spoke to Todorov a month ago, asking a question about him and a couple of other Bulgarians, but we're not in for any of them."
A forward is the last thing on Glenn's mind, and he adds:
"Our priorities lie elsewhere - at this stage we're not looking to strengthen that area.
"We've got Fredi Kanoute and Paolo Di Canio as our first choice strikers, backed up by Defoe, Todorov, and Kitson.
"I'm looking in other areas that need filling sooner rather than later."
He admits, though that time has beaten him in terms of getting anyone in by Saturday, and says:
"I've been at the training ground all day, spending most of it on the telephone trying to achieve a couple of transfers in time for the game against leeds.
"Time has really run out and it is not going to happen, but there is still a possibility that they could happen next week.
"But don't ask me who they are because I am not going to tell!"
Reflecting on the defeat at Anfield, he says:
"I had to be very pleased with the effort we put in; there were plenty of people outside the club who thought we were going to get a tousing up there, but in the event we didn't.
"We put in the sort of performance that was pleasing for myself and, I think, the fans who travelled were pleasantly surprised by the effort the boys put in.
"We had our moments breaking forward as well, but it was disappointing not to get a point because I felt our performance deserved it, and it would have been great to get the first point on the score board.
"Now we will be looking to do that against a very strong Leeds team who I saw at Highbury last night.
"It was a fantastic game and the quality of the football played by both sides at times was breathtaking.
"They are a quickly improving team and obviously we are going to have our hands full against them."
"It's nonsense," he insists, "there is nothing to say because it is another agent-driven story to use West Ham as vehicle to find Ivanov a club in England.
"I know who the agents are, in fact there are two or three that are supposed to be acting for him, and they are using us.
"I don't like it but there is nothing we can do about it; it's the way football works now.
"I spoke to Todorov a month ago, asking a question about him and a couple of other Bulgarians, but we're not in for any of them."
A forward is the last thing on Glenn's mind, and he adds:
"Our priorities lie elsewhere - at this stage we're not looking to strengthen that area.
"We've got Fredi Kanoute and Paolo Di Canio as our first choice strikers, backed up by Defoe, Todorov, and Kitson.
"I'm looking in other areas that need filling sooner rather than later."
He admits, though that time has beaten him in terms of getting anyone in by Saturday, and says:
"I've been at the training ground all day, spending most of it on the telephone trying to achieve a couple of transfers in time for the game against leeds.
"Time has really run out and it is not going to happen, but there is still a possibility that they could happen next week.
"But don't ask me who they are because I am not going to tell!"
Reflecting on the defeat at Anfield, he says:
"I had to be very pleased with the effort we put in; there were plenty of people outside the club who thought we were going to get a tousing up there, but in the event we didn't.
"We put in the sort of performance that was pleasing for myself and, I think, the fans who travelled were pleasantly surprised by the effort the boys put in.
"We had our moments breaking forward as well, but it was disappointing not to get a point because I felt our performance deserved it, and it would have been great to get the first point on the score board.
"Now we will be looking to do that against a very strong Leeds team who I saw at Highbury last night.
"It was a fantastic game and the quality of the football played by both sides at times was breathtaking.
"They are a quickly improving team and obviously we are going to have our hands full against them."