Dean Ashton has said on his diary at icons.com that West Ham's dip in form is all about confidence. "It has been said in some papers and in a couple of e-mails that I have received, that maybe things would different if I was back in the side," he said. "I think that as well, of course I do. As a player you always believe that you can do, or add something to the team, but the players that are there are more than capable of getting good results. It's not down to the fact that I'm not there, it's just down to a little dip in confidence, that’s all. I think to get back on track West Ham just need something to go their way, it could be a freak goal for instance. As soon as that confidence is back everything will change. Some people think the atmosphere must have changed at West Ham, because it hasn’t been the greatest start to the season. But I can confirm it really doesn’t seem to have changed at all! Everyone knows that we have got to start picking up results again, but the team is confident. We know we just need one result to get us back on track, then we will be fine. It’s a very tight unit at West Ham and it has been for a while, long before I joined, so no-one is panicking. There has been a lot of criticism directed at Tevez and Mascherano since they joined, which I think is very unfair. They just need a bit of time to find their feet. When you are billed as a couple of the world's greatest players, there is massive expectation heaped upon you, but they have got to have time to adjust. There is a language barrier and all sorts of other things for them to get used to. I'm sure if English players went abroad it would take them time to adjust as well! They will be a huge asset to this club."

Deano also made a mention of his old gaffer. "I wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that my old boss Nigel Worthington got sacked at Norwich. The results were not going their way and a club like Norwich needs to be in the Premiership. If the results aren’t there, unfortunately the manager takes the brunt of the criticism. I was very sad to see him go because he gave me my chance in the Premiership, which I'll never forget. I think the other lads will be sad to see him go too, because not only was he a decent manager but he was a nice guy. But you have to move on, that's what happens in football. Nigel will definitely stay in management, definitely, you have to bounce back from these things."