"Many Photos" - West Ham still fear the drop after unthinkable relegation in 2011, says Luis Boa Morte

LUIS BOA MORTE is adamant West Ham fans still have a nervous relegation tic after their unthinkable drop in 2011.

Part of that infamous side under Avram Grant that found themselves in the Championship after a sickening season, the Portuguese midfielder remembers it all too well.

Luis Boa Morte says West Ham still fear relegation after their 2011 fiasco

Rex Features

Rock bottom. Just seven wins. 33 points – six off Blackpool.

And since then, in what would be his final season at the club after joining from Fulham in 2007, Boa Morte is certain the lasting scars are still there to see.

Speaking to SunSport ahead of the Hammers’ clash with Fulham, he said: “It’s normal for the fans to remember it. That’s why they are desperate not to return to that time.

“It’s perhaps why they are so demanding now. They always want you to play good football wherever you are in the league. I’ve never felt anything like it.

West Ham went down in 2011, dead last after a horror season under Avram Grant

PA:Empics Sport

Boa Morte reckons a fear of relegation haunts West Ham

Reuters

“At the moment they are playing well, but the fans always want more.”

The fans certainly were having flashbacks as the current crop went winless in their opening four games of the season under Manuel Pellegrini.

They appear to have fought off the early criticism however, already matching their points tally from nine years ago and eyeing a European spot come May.

But Boa Morte warns that the London Stadium faithful will turn once again if they get any whiff of another battle with the drop.

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He said: “It’s so strange. That first season I had at West Ham was really good.

“But whenever people ask about my time there it’s always about that relegation. That will never change.

“You never expect it to happen at a club like West Ham especially with that squad we had.”

With the likes of Robert Green, Kieron Dyer, Scott Parker, Wayne Bridge and Robbie Keane at their disposal, it’s hard to argue with that.

Now an assistant coach at Israeli side Maccabi Haifa thanks to his ongoing relationship with his old Hammers boss, Boa Morte added: “Even Avram hates talking about it to this day.

“You always remember, even if you don’t want to or try your hardest to forget and move on. We tend not to bring it up with each other.

Luis Boa Morte was part of West Ham’s disastrous team of 2011

PA:Press Association

“Hopefully it will never happen again, but this team must be ready for anything.

“We weren’t ready, and we went down. When things began to go badly we didn’t react quickly enough and we were suddenly bottom at Christmas.

“If this current side aren’t ready to fight then they will slip too, regardless of the squad.”

While West Ham were sent down to the Championship in 2011, Fulham finished eighth under Mark Hughes.

A world away from their current predicament under Claudio Ranieri, eight points from safety.

And in a role reversal for Boa Morte’s two former sides, the Portuguese coach fears the club he spent seven years at are destined for a lose-lose scenario.

West Ham won only seven games that season, finishing miles off Blackpool

The Times

He said: “When you go up to the Prem, money is now everything and you must spend it.

“If you don’t get it right then you have to keep spending and spending and spending to try and make it right. That’s where Fulham are right now.

“They spent a lot in the summer and then spent more in January, and find themselves in trouble.

“If they stay up, which is looking pretty tough right now, they will have to spend more.

“If they go down, they will have to spend even more to get back up straight away. It is getting harder and harder every year.

“It’s a lot different to when I was there. It was stable and we could progress slowly. Fulham now don’t have that luxury.”

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News Photo West Ham still fear the drop after unthinkable relegation in 2011, says Luis Boa Morte
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