WEST Ham boss Alan Curbishley has told fans to ignore the heightening transfer speculation in the press.

The club has been linked to a series of high-priced targets including Eidur Gudjohnsen, Craig Bellamy, Darren Bent, Tal Ben-Haim and Ecuadorian Carlos Tenorio, with up to a dozen players speculated to be leaving the Hammers in the summer in what has been quoted as a £40m squad overhaul.

But Curbishley said: "People are assuming and just writing what they want. Of course there will be some changes, there are at every club in the summer. But you have to be sensible and a lot of what is written is just speculation."

The manager was on holiday last week and returned to business on Tuesday with a meeting with Eggert Magnusson.

He said: "I am sitting down with the chairman almost everyday and we will do the right thing for this club. As I have said in the past, you will know who's coming in when they're here sitting beside me. That's how I do business."

Magnusson told the West Ham website: "There is bound to be a lot of speculation over the summer about our playing squad. It is normal in a transfer window - who is going, who we want to bring in.

"We are ambitious for this club and what we can achieve next season. We want to strengthen the squad and to build on the positives of the 2006/07 season. I'm proud of what the club has achieved and now we can move forward.

"We will work hard over the summer to prepare for next season and that includes keeping our best players who want to play for us."

He cited the new contract for Yossi Benayoun as a sign of the club's commitment to its players, saying: "We are very ambitious and Yossi is a big part of our plans.

"We are looking forward to bringing in exciting new signings but we must also make sure we keep hold of the hugely talented players we already have."