Glenn Roeder is going to try to persuade Trevor Sinclair to stay at
West Ham.
Trevor handed in a written transfer request on Monday and the board will meet in due course to consider that request.
But Glenn insists:
* He will pick Trevor against Blackburn on Sunday.
* It is not a foregone conclusion that his transfer request will be accepted.
* Trevor is not looking for more money elsewhere.
* He is almost certain to make his England debut against Sweden.
* The pair still have a good working relationship.
"The reaction was one of disappointment that Trevor had decided to put a request in writing," says Glenn.
"He had spoken to me a couple of weeks earlier about his situation and not being overly happy at the club.
"It is definitely not a new situation, he tells me; he felt this way prior to getting injured last year, and when he was injured he obviously had to keep it to himself and wait until he was fit again.
"That is why the feeling of wanting to leave has resurfaced and he says that is as strong as it was last season.
"We were hoping it would go away but he gave us the written transfer request which has got to go before the board to be discussed.
"We are still hoping to be able to change his mind, but players nowadays come under such pressure
from outside the football clubs they play for sometimes they find it difficult to change their minds."
Glenn does not follow the theory that it was the change of agent in the break that led to the request, however, and says:
"I understand that he was with First Artist until the summer and is now with SFX which is also a very big company.
"But I don't get the impression that the agency is at the root of the problem; I just feel that Trevor started to have the feelings of being unsettled last year but couldn't make them known.
"So he has waited until he has got fit and played a number of games and he has decided now to make his feelings known to the football world.
"I will do everything I can do to keep him; he is certainly not a player I would choose to sell or want to sell.
"I am certainly under no pressure to sell him - but the control that clubs used to have over players has, in recent years, nearly evaporated.
"Players now are in incredibly strong positions but it is still within our rights to turn down the transfer request.
"But if he becomes even more unsettled and you don't get the performances you know he is capable of, it is obviously going to be a concern to us, so we will just have to wait and see what develops.
"I have no doubt in my own mind the way Trevor is as a person that while he is with us he will give his absolute best.
"I have not detected anything in training to suggest he will do anything but that.
"And hopefully when he plays for us at Blackburn on Sunday he will have a storming game, because he is a very important player for us."
Glenn does not feel that a move will enhance his international career and adds:
"I don't think, personally, a change of club will make one iota of difference to his international future.
"With the feedback we are getting from the people involved with England I would have thought in the next friendly against Sweden Trevor could well earn his first cap.
"That is a month away and maybe that first cap will be as a West Ham player."
Revealing more about how he found out about Trevor's unrest, he says:
"I have got a good relationship with Trevor and when he first saw me two weeks ago he told me he felt slightly uncomfortable saying to me that he felt unsettled, because he felt that he had a very good working relationship with me, which he has.
"That was when he said these feelings first surfaced last year - and of course I wasn't manager last year - but they haven't gone away.
"One of the issues that was a key concern for him was when Ferdinand was sold - though you must remember it was a world record for a defender at the time - and then when Frank was sold.
"Again, there was hardly anything anyone at the club could have done about that one.
"He said he was impressed with the three major signings I had made and had they come in with the other two players still at the club it would have made him a lot happier.
"So there are a lot of issues of concern to him and a lot of them are from before my time, to be honest."
He stresses it is not about financial gain, and adds:
"It is not a money issue and, having spoken to Paul Aldridge, I'm sure if it was we could satisfy it - and we would be happy to satisfy it.
"Trevor is telling us it not about money and the fans mustn't think that it is."
As for what happens now, Glenn says:
"The next step is quite simple; the transfer request will be looked at by the chairman and the board of directors and a decision obviously will be made whether it is accepted."
Trevor handed in a written transfer request on Monday and the board will meet in due course to consider that request.
But Glenn insists:
* He will pick Trevor against Blackburn on Sunday.
* It is not a foregone conclusion that his transfer request will be accepted.
* Trevor is not looking for more money elsewhere.
* He is almost certain to make his England debut against Sweden.
* The pair still have a good working relationship.
"The reaction was one of disappointment that Trevor had decided to put a request in writing," says Glenn.
"He had spoken to me a couple of weeks earlier about his situation and not being overly happy at the club.
"It is definitely not a new situation, he tells me; he felt this way prior to getting injured last year, and when he was injured he obviously had to keep it to himself and wait until he was fit again.
"That is why the feeling of wanting to leave has resurfaced and he says that is as strong as it was last season.
"We were hoping it would go away but he gave us the written transfer request which has got to go before the board to be discussed.
"We are still hoping to be able to change his mind, but players nowadays come under such pressure
from outside the football clubs they play for sometimes they find it difficult to change their minds."
Glenn does not follow the theory that it was the change of agent in the break that led to the request, however, and says:
"I understand that he was with First Artist until the summer and is now with SFX which is also a very big company.
"But I don't get the impression that the agency is at the root of the problem; I just feel that Trevor started to have the feelings of being unsettled last year but couldn't make them known.
"So he has waited until he has got fit and played a number of games and he has decided now to make his feelings known to the football world.
"I will do everything I can do to keep him; he is certainly not a player I would choose to sell or want to sell.
"I am certainly under no pressure to sell him - but the control that clubs used to have over players has, in recent years, nearly evaporated.
"Players now are in incredibly strong positions but it is still within our rights to turn down the transfer request.
"But if he becomes even more unsettled and you don't get the performances you know he is capable of, it is obviously going to be a concern to us, so we will just have to wait and see what develops.
"I have no doubt in my own mind the way Trevor is as a person that while he is with us he will give his absolute best.
"I have not detected anything in training to suggest he will do anything but that.
"And hopefully when he plays for us at Blackburn on Sunday he will have a storming game, because he is a very important player for us."
Glenn does not feel that a move will enhance his international career and adds:
"I don't think, personally, a change of club will make one iota of difference to his international future.
"With the feedback we are getting from the people involved with England I would have thought in the next friendly against Sweden Trevor could well earn his first cap.
"That is a month away and maybe that first cap will be as a West Ham player."
Revealing more about how he found out about Trevor's unrest, he says:
"I have got a good relationship with Trevor and when he first saw me two weeks ago he told me he felt slightly uncomfortable saying to me that he felt unsettled, because he felt that he had a very good working relationship with me, which he has.
"That was when he said these feelings first surfaced last year - and of course I wasn't manager last year - but they haven't gone away.
"One of the issues that was a key concern for him was when Ferdinand was sold - though you must remember it was a world record for a defender at the time - and then when Frank was sold.
"Again, there was hardly anything anyone at the club could have done about that one.
"He said he was impressed with the three major signings I had made and had they come in with the other two players still at the club it would have made him a lot happier.
"So there are a lot of issues of concern to him and a lot of them are from before my time, to be honest."
He stresses it is not about financial gain, and adds:
"It is not a money issue and, having spoken to Paul Aldridge, I'm sure if it was we could satisfy it - and we would be happy to satisfy it.
"Trevor is telling us it not about money and the fans mustn't think that it is."
As for what happens now, Glenn says:
"The next step is quite simple; the transfer request will be looked at by the chairman and the board of directors and a decision obviously will be made whether it is accepted."