Christian: Money Isn't Everything

Christian Dailly is one Premiership player who has no problem with the fact that his club have not spent millions in the market this summer - and he has two very good reasons why.

Firstly, a very good friend and former colleague of his has been playing for nothing in the first division - and he insists that, in West Ham's case, spending is unnecessary with the talent coming through.

The friend is Billy McKinlay, who has been famously turning out gratis for Leicester as he looks to get a contract before the transfer window closes.

"I played alongside Billy McKinlay with Blackburn, Scotland, and Dundee United, and he is playing for free, which shows how much he wants to.

"That seems to be the way it is going, but hopefully it will sort itself out.

"He wants to play, so good on him - it is brilliant to see that level of commitment.

"But the situation is bad; I have got a couple of friends who are out of work just now and it is really sad.

"It is probably due to the amount of foreign players now playing in all the leagues - a lot of the British guys don't seem to be able to get a club which is a real shame.

"I am not really very sure what the solution is - it is just a case of keeping ticking over and seeing what comes up."

As for West Ham not paying any fees this summer, he says:

"The players are happy; you can spend money, but it doesn't necessarily make any difference to the team.

"I think there have been financial constraints put on the manager this year but we have a fantastic new stand.

"These things happen in football, and finances are a little bit uncertain at the moment, so I think it is understandable.

"But we have a lot of young lads coming through like Glen Johnson, not to mention ones that have already played, like Grant McCann, so that is exciting - and you don't need to spend when you have got young lads like that coming through."

Not that new players haven't walked through the doors, of course - and Christian says they are all made welcome straight away.

"It is a really professional bunch here and anyone that comes settles in no problem; there are no big timers here and there is a lot of stick flying about, which is great.

"Gary Breen, for instance, has settled in well and everyone knows him quite well, anyway."

Christian says that everyone is ready to get going now the games are serious.

If you count West Ham's friendly against Vitesse Arnhem as a 'home' game, the last time the side were away was in the 5-4 defeat by Reading, and he insists the irons have been wrinkled out of that performance.

"We have been training really hard," he says, "and it was annoying for the whole team to concede set pieces in that game.

"We have to make sure it doesn't happen in the season, but there was no way it was going to be perfect all the way through summer.

"There was a focus on the last friendly game with all the other games leading up to that; it was good to come away with a 1-0 win and a pretty solid performance.

"They didn't create very many chances and we created quite a few, so there were a lot of good things to take from it.

"Now it is a tough game at Newcastle, but a good way to start the campaign, at a great stadium against a good team; I think we can go there and get something."