Glenn Roeder quizzed

BBC Sport Online offered you the chance to put your questions to new West Ham manager Glenn Roeder about his plans for the coming season.

Click here to listen to Glenn Roeder

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A new era is due to begin at West Ham with former first team coach Glenn Roeder becoming only the ninth manager in the club's history.

Roeder's appointment has received a mixed reaction from Hammers fans.

But he has been backed to succeed by his peers, including the man he replaced, Harry Redknapp.

BBC Sport Online offered you the chance to put your questions to the new man in charge at Upton Park.

Who are his transfer targets? What are his goals? And how does he feel about the criticism at his appointment?

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Chris Dench, UK

With all the negative comments I have heard from disgruntled Hammers fans regarding your appointment as manager, how much pressure do you feel to get things right immediately?

When I agreed to take the job on, I quite honestly expected there to be some disappointment from sections of our supporters. Because the Premier League is so hyped up, everyone seems to demand big name managers, big name players and everything has to be big. And although that sometimes guarantees that you get the success that you are looking for, it doesn't always.

Without naming names there are quite a few examples over the last few years where so-called big name managers have gone into a football club, spent an absolute fortune on new players, and in a very short space of time everything comes crashing down around their ears. So, just because you appoint a big name manager it doesn't mean that you are guaranteed success.

The reaction that I got from some sections of the supporters was expected. I considered it before I agreed to take on the job. It's up to myself and obviously the players that go out and play on a Saturday to change people's opinions as quickly as possible. And we will only do that by achieving good results.

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Tim Gordon, England

How do you respond to people who suggest that your poor track record in management so far indicates that you might not have the pedigree for the challenge of Premiership management?

First of all it's been suggested that I was sacked from Gillingham, which couldn't be further from the truth. In actual fact Watford had to go to a tribunal because they were supposed to have poached me and ended up paying a £40,000 transfer fee to Gillingham.

Then I had the opportunity to go to Watford and improve my status from being manger in the third division to being a manager in the first division. Having played for Watford I knew a little bit about the club.

In my second full season at Watford, we missed out on the play-offs by three or four points and Graham Taylor's Wolves finished above us. I think that year Graham spent over £5m pounds on the transfer market. That year I finished with two strikers that cost a combined total of £15,000. I paid £10,000 for Kevin Phillips and £5000 for a player from Tottenham called Peter Beadle, who did quite well.

The third season we struggled due to key players being injured for a long period of time. During that time at Watford, I worked for a man who every time we could show a profit in the transfer market by buying cheap and selling dear, we took the money. If you continually work under those conditions it's very difficult.

In the time that I was at Watford, net profit in the transfer market from players I bought and sold made Waterford over £5m, which was used to build the two new stands behind the goals at Vicarage Road. Now in any other business but football in under three years if I had made over £5m profit, I would probably have got a pat on the back and I new contract.

Now I do understand that professional football is driven by results and in the third season I didn't get the results that I wanted. But I was handicapped by having to sell all our better players and a horrendous injury list. People need to look a little bit deeper before they start saying I had a dreadful time in my two short spells in management.

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Kevin Mason, England

Given your previous experience, how much better equipped are you this time around to deal with the pressures of management and what have you learnt from your past experience?

Those four years in management will stand me in good stead. I have had five years to evaluate what went on. I'm that much older and I feel there are certain things I will do differently. Hopefully that will lead me to having a successful career as the manger of West Ham.

I'm very excited about this opportunity, and really looking forward to getting the boys back to training on Wednesday.

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Simon, UK

Are the rumours about you moving for John Hartson, and David James true?

I haven't got the Rio Ferdinand money. A fair bit of that money, in fact most of it, our previous manager Harry Redknapp spent on three or four players, which I think totalled the best part of £8m or £9m in fees. But you also have also got to take into account that the players came on incredibly high Premiership wages, which is money that goes out of the club.

But as far as the Frank Lampard transfer kitty is concerned, it's been well advertised that, that money plus a few more million is available to me. I don't like to tell people exactly what I have got in the till as it always causes problems when you try to sign players.

I will spend that money as wisely as I can. I won't bring in a player that I feel only keeps the team where it is at present. I will only bring in players that I feel will make the team better. I need to do that and I need to do it quickly.

As far as David James is concerned I have been looking at the possibility of bringing in another goalkeeper. David James is someone I know from my days at Watford. I played in front of him when he was 18, 19 and I was nearing the end of my career. I played a number of games with him and I'm very aware of him as a person and his ability. He has gone on to become one of the best keepers in Britain. He is a current England international which is the sort of quality I am looking to bring into the club.

John Hartson is receiving a lot of attention in the press where we are concerned. John is one of the players that I have got on a list of players that I am looking at. John enjoyed a very successful time at West Ham but there is nothing to be done immediately. He is just one of several players that I am visiting at the moment.

I would like to think that the David James transfer will happen. But until it does I can't say definitely. I am hopeful that David will be in at West Ham in the next few days but we will have to wait and see. It's only natural to be cagey as it's very difficult to secure the signatures of these quality players. I'm also making approaches for two or three players at this moment and I'm waiting to hear back from managers, agents, etc.

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Julian Munsey, Northants

Will Paolo di Canio be moving to Manchester United, as has been widely reported?

We've had no contact whatsoever with Man Utd. I certainly haven't spoken to Sir Alex Ferguson, and as far as I know our managing director hasn't spoken to his counterpart at United. There's been on contact between the clubs, so we're as much in the dark as everyone else. It can be unsettling for players, especially if you're linked to Man Utd who will be playing Champion's League football next season. I can only repeat that there's been no contact between the two clubs.

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Alan, The Bahamas

Given Paolo di Canio's lukewarm reaction to your appointment, what will you say to him when he returns for pre-season training? Does he have a future at the club?

I've had one conversation with Paolo a couple of weeks ago, and it lasted for over an hour. It was a very positive and there appeared to be no problem with Paolo as far as my appointment was concerned. I put some points forward as to what I wanted to happen this year, and he seemed very happy with those. I'm looking forward to working with him this year.

Generally, the players have been very good. They're looking forward to getting back for pre-season training and preparing for April 18.

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Adrian, England

Towards the end of the season our defence looked very lightweight. Is this your first priority?

We are looking at the possibility of bringing in David James, which would be a start, and I'll obviously be looking at the possibility of bringing another central defender - something I'm doing at the moment. I'm not in a position to give any clues away as to who that might be, but we're looking at two or three options. Again, I can only say that if I bring a central defender into the club it will only be because I genuinely believe that he will make the team better. I agree with Adrian that we do need to tighten up defensively and we'll be working that through pre-season training.

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Tom, England

A lot of fans we're becoming increasingly frustrated at Harry's perseverance with the 3-5-2 formation, which often did not work. How do you intend to play next year?

A don't think we're in a position - in the way that Man Utd are, to say that we can play the same formation week in week out. In an ideal world, I would like to play 4-4-2, as that is my preferred formation. But I'm also a person who can be flexible, and I'm sure that there will be times this year when we have to use the 3-5-2 formation, be that for tactical or injury reasons. At times, this formation was very successful for Harry and for West Ham. But generally speaking, I will look at 4-4-2, although we must be flexible.

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Nigel Webster, New Zealand

What is a realistic finishing place for us in the Premiership this season? Will it be considered a success if we just avoid relegation, or are we aiming for a top six finish?

We've got to try and come out of this nosedive that we had this year. I'm not in the prediction business - I think that's a very dangerous business to get into as far as football's concerned. But we must aim to turn things around quickly and aim to get as many points as we can. We'll see where we finish after we've done that.

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Nick Smith, UK

What are your plans for Jermaine Defoe? Do you see him as the right man alongside Kanoute or is he not quite ready for the Premiership?

As far as I'm concerned, Jermaine Defoe has a big future at west Ham and a big future in football. He proved what a goal scorer in the Second Division at Bournemouth, but the Premier League will be a lot more difficult for him. Having said that, if the chances come his way in the Premiership I'm sure he'll have the ability to finish them off. I don't see us letting him out on loan again at the moment. We've had many inquiries already, which we've turned down. I want to keep him at the club all year and have him training with the first team every day. I'm sure he'll have many cameo appearances from the bench, and I'm sure that - maybe because of injuries - he'll have a few starts as well. This season is all about starting to build a first team career for Jermaine Defoe, and hopefully by the start of next season he'll be ready to be given his chance.

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Simon, UK

Do you see Joe Cole as having a pivotal role in the team?

Very much so. As everyone knows, Joe is such an exciting talent. Like Michael Carrick, a player of his young age will improve every season. They've already got themselves into the full England squad, which is amazing when you consider how young they are. I'm really looking forward to working with both of them this year.

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John Barker, UK

Will you sign a couple of experienced players after the influence that Paolo di Canio and Stuart Pearce have had on the team? We have already missed out on Wise, Poyet and Sheringham.

You can't dispute the value that experienced players can bring to your team. I'm looking at experienced players at the moment, especially as we have two young midfield players, in Carrick (20) and Cole (19). I'm certain that they more than anybody would benefit from two or three experienced players coming into the team. Unfortunately, as far as Teddy Sheringham was concerned, I wasn't in a position at that time to do anything about that, and it was the same with Poyet. But I can see why Glenn Hoddle - who I worked under for two-and-a-half years when he was manager of England - has gone for those two talented players.