Di Canio gives West Ham deadline
West Ham’s Paolo di Canio insists he wants to stay at West Ham – but has given the club until the end of the month to sort out a new contract.
And even if the 34-year-old does not stick around at Upton Park, the Italian playmaker wants to finish his career in England, claiming there are other Barclaycard Premiership sides who want to sign him.
In an interview with Gabriel Clarke, to be broadcast on ITV’s On The Ball tomorrow lunchtime, di Canio insisted: “Everybody knows I want to stay at West Ham. Everybody knows what I feel. It’s up to West Ham now.
“They have to decide if they don’t want to lose me for nothing. I don’t know what they have planned but they have 13 days to decide.”
He continued: “It’s not about the contract – it’s about value, moral things because I’m the skipper – I am not a player on trial.
“They know my value, they know how professional I am, they know if I can play at this level for a few years to come.”
“We are talking about what they are wanting to do with me -if they want to keep me here or not, if I stay in their plans for the future or not.
“Once they tell me “no, we don’t want you”, I will look around. I only want only to clarify the situation.
“I will accept any answer because I respect the plans but it is strange they don’t know what they want to do.
“In the past they have renewed contracts of people older than me, easily - and maybe these people only play five or six games a year.
“This is strange to me, I am younger, with better form and I still play every game. As skipper and given my performance I don’t know why they don’t have 10 seconds (to talk about the future).
“I will do my job anyway. Every single day I come here two hours before training starts because I love to be professional, it’s in my genes.
“I will still give 200% for this club even if they say I’m not in their plans - but it is strange, this silence from them.”
The bottom-of-the-table Hammers play at Sunderland tomorrow, and di Canio, who netted twice in their first win of the season at Chelsea, believes his recent form can help ease the pressure on manager Glenn Roeder.
He explained: “I think I can play better because I have showed in the last three or four games I still have a better form than a few years ago.
“He is not in a comfortable position but I don’t think you can point the finger at him, it’s the team.
“But I hope that we can win the next two games and keep him here – and play with the same manager for the rest of the season.
“I have a better relationship with Glenn than any other player so it is a shame the press turn it around.”
Whatever the future holds for him at Upton Park, di Canio – still remembered for pushing referee Paul Alcock to the ground when playing for Sheffield Wednesday in September 1998, wants to finish his playing days in England.
He added: “My plan is to finish my career in English football. I love the football, I love England – there are more positive things than negative here.
“I like the life, the people, the culture. Otherwise I would have left three years ago when I pushed the referee.
“But I came back because I wanted to show the people I am a normal person who can make a mistake like many other people – I am not a killer.
“Definitely you will see me play football in England because there are people who are ready to sign me, either at West Ham or other Premier League clubs for a minimum one or two years.”
