Consolidation is the Name of the Game

The pressure on newly promoted teams to stay in the Premier League is immense.

Having sampled the financial rewards on offer, falling through that relegation trap-door can be a tragic experience.

Ahead of our difficult looking trip to play Stoke City, Big Sam`s #2, Neil McDonald has offered an insight into what he believes a 'safe` points total will be, commenting at the pre-match press conference,

"We might be only six points away from relegation but we might also be only six points away from being safe, 36-40 point is the magic mark so we are not that far away."

"We have still got plenty of time to get those points."

"If we can pick up some points away from home, along with the form we`ve shown at home, I`m sure we will be fine."

"There is a positive staff at Upton Park, we are always looking on the up. If you look back over the years as a newly promoted team you would still be happy with West Ham`s position."

"Publically the objective is to stay in the league but privately we set a target from which we are not too far away."

Consolidation, in our opinion, just has to be the name of the game over the next few seasons.

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