Rob: Situation Stable

Robert Lee says Trevor Brooking is the ideal man to bridge the gap between the last 'permanent' manager Glenn Roeder and the next, Alan Pardew - even if, as he admits, the situation is "strange".

"Trevor seems to have the knack of knowing how to be the manager and from what I have seen he is doing everything right," says Rob, who has of course played under some of the most respected managers in the country both at club and international level.

"He talks to players and encourages them, giving rollickings when it is needed.

"It is a strange old situation but with Trevor in charge they can wait for Alan Pardew in a month - they think that he is the man to lead West Ham into the next three, four, five years they can wait knowing the club is in good hands in the near future because Trevor is good at the job."

Rob feels that Trevor has 'bought' West Ham some time and adds:

"If we were losing and didn't have anybody in charge, so to speak, there would be the temptation to make a rash decision - but as they think Alan Pardew is the man we can take as long as we like.

"Trevor has done fantastically and you can't argue with the results he has got as caretaker - and he does it the right way.

"He doesn't rant and rave, he has got the utmost respect of the players and the fans adore him."

As for Alan's impending arrival, he says:

"It was vital West Ham got the right man because we have some great young talent coming through and it is also a case of keeping the talent we have got happy, the Defoes and Carricks.

"He has got to be able to nurture the players coming through as well; as I say, it is a long term thing and with Trevor at the helm at the moment and us winning games there is no hurry.

"My opinion counts for nothing but in that of all the fans he is a ideal manager, though that is not to be in the long term."

Trevor's last dip into the transfer market may yet not be the two players he signed ahead of the Reading game; if injuries are sustained in the near future, he may go back into the loan market.

But of Trevor's last two signings, albeit on a temporary basis, he says:

"Wayne Quinn I know from Newcastle and I have always rated him; he has got a fantastic left foot and you can see that from the kicks and corners he took - and when they asked me about him I was quick to say 'go and get him.'

"I have played against Niclas Alexandersson a few times and he gives us a nice balance on the right hand side."

Rob expects another tough game at Gillingham and adds:

"The majority of the games will be a grind, especially for 60, 70, 80 minutes, but we have got quality in our team and especially with a bit of magic from David Connolly or Jermain Defoe we believe we can score in every game.

"If we keep clean sheets in every game which we believe we are going to do we will win more games than we lose."

Rob came back from injury quicker than expected against Reading, and explains:

"It wasn't 100% when I came back last week as I said to Trevor, and ideally I would have liked another week.

"I caught it a couple of times but luckily it went away - anyway I haven't got many more games to go so I will play whenever I can!

"I was pleased to see out the game and I made that 50 yard run; I told Jermain if I run that far I want the ball but he does seem to shoot a lot!"

As for the 'theory' that Jermain and David don't pass to each other, Rob shrugs:

"They just want to score goals, they are out and out goalscorers but I would rather that - you give them the ball and more often that not they get a shot on target - that is what they are all about."

As for skipper Christian Dailly, who finally opened his account for the Hammers with the winner against Reading, he says:

"Christian is happy because he is joint third leading scorer at the club.

"When I first came here I said to him I couldn't believe he hadn't scored because he is always getting his head to things so it was only a matter of time, really.

"He has been very, very good since I have been here marshalling the defence - he is outstanding and we have looked very solid."

Regarding that 4-3-3 system, which was 'dropped' against Crewe but had previously been used to good effect, Rob adds:

"It is a lot of work but it worked very well for 25 minutes against Reading and before Christian scored we could have been three up.

"But we got the goal and when you are playing that sort of formation it is important the forwards stop the full backs getting out for whatever reason that wasn't happening towards the end of the first half and we found ourselves penned in a little bit.

"I think Trevor saw that and changed it accordingly and once we went to 4-4-2 in the second half we were okay; although we were put under a little bit of pressure from them we had the better chances.

"I have said to the lads we are going to do better than against Crewe and give someone a good four or five goal hiding soon."