West Ham's Green told to man up

West Ham boss Avram Grant has told Robert Green that he needs to buck up his ideas, and 'react like a man'.

The goalkeeper made another howler this weekend, spilling yet another routine save.

Green has developed a nasty habit of committing mistakes, famously costing England victory over the USA in the World Cup when he palmed a seemingly harmless shot into his own net.

On Saturday against Chelsea, Didier Drogba's free-kick looked to offer little danger... until Green fumbled it.

The stopper was then left stranded as Matthew Upson's resultant clearance of the loose ball rebounded off an oblivious Salomon Kalou and over Green's head into the back of the net.

The mistake effectively killed off any hope West Ham had of winning their first point of the season, as it gave Chelsea a 2-0 advantage after only 18 minutes.

Minutes later, Green's error was compounded when his own fans rounded on him, ironically applauding as he gathered an equally easy take.

Hammers supporters have now had to endure their worst ever start to a season. Their club is marooned at the bottom of the Premier League, having failed to take a single point from their opening four games.

Grant wasn't overly sympathetic towards his player.

"You can imagine his mood," he said. "But this is the life of a sportsman, of football players and managers."

Asked whether Green was still haunted by the World Cup, Grant seemed unsure of his stopper's mental state: "I don't know if the World Cup is on his mind. You'd need to ask him."

However, he did give his backing to the beleaguered former Norwich man.

"He's a good goalkeeper," said Grant. "Let's say he was not happy with his performances sometimes, but this is part of the game.

"The supporters were very tough with David Beckham after 1998 and very hard on Cristiano Ronaldo after 2006.

"Sometimes supporters love you, sometimes they are against you. You need to do your job no matter what. Rob is a tough guy. He's a good goalkeeper and he needs to react like a man."