I'm losing sleep over the Hammers, admits David Gold

David Gold claims West Ham's battle against relegation is keeping him lying awake at night.

The club's co-chairman has been running through the different permutations of survival in his head and is unable to get to sleep.

Gold watched Gianfranco Zola's side record back-to-back wins last week against Birmingham and Hull. Those victories lifted West Ham to 13th in the table but Gold is still worrying, with his club only four points above the drop zone.

"I drive myself potty," said the 73-year-old. "I'm lying in bed awake and I've got 68 different combinations of results.

"Once it's on your mind, you're lying there and you have to say to yourself stop this and get to sleep, you silly sod. You're not going to change anything'. But you can't help yourself. It's a big expectation.

"The manager's under the same pressure. We want the best for our club and we want to get out of this. This is not where we should be. It's a challenge and it's also a responsibility."

Gold spent 17 years with David Sullivan as co-owners of Birmingham before buying the club they both supported last month.

He said: "No disrespect to Birmingham, this is a bigger club — the passion is greater."