WEST HAM: Sullivan admits relegation would be 'Armageddon' (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WEST HAM: Sullivan admits relegation would be 'Armageddon'

10:20am Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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WEST HAM owner David Sullivan believes the club face 'Armageddon' if they drop into the Championship.

The former Birmingham City owner, who has bought half of the Upton Park club with his business partner David Gold, has already revealed the Hammers' total debt stands at some £110million.

He revealed that current members of the playing squad are 'on too much money' and that players would be asked to take 'pay cuts' in the summer. He also warned that it could be four years before the club can get their house in order.

"It'll be Armageddon if we go down. It'll be worse than what's gone on at Newcastle," he told BBC Sport.

"Every position is overpaid, whether in administration or on the playing side. Everyone at the club will be asked to take a salary cut in the summer.

"The club is in a mess and we all have to pull together. If we go down, I can't even consider the situation."

He told the Daily Mail: “By the fourth year maybe we can start to look forward.

“The situation they've (the new Birmingham owners) inherited from us at Birmingham is far better than the one we've inherited, in terms of the way the club is run, the wages they carry, contracts, infrastructure.

“The training ground at Birmingham is vastly superior. We spent millions on it.

“At West Ham, we have a lot of players on too much money and a lot of very injured players.

“It is a disaster if we go down but we'll just have to find a solution.

“We're hoping to stay up and deliver an improved team next season. Some players will have to come in, some players will have to go.”

West Ham face Sullivan and Gold's previous club at Upton Park on Wednesday. The Hammers are currently occupying the final relegation place, but a win could take them as high as fourteenth.