Writing was on the wall for Grant

Sacked manager Avram Grant has accused West Ham of offering his job to six other coaches during the team s unsuccessful relegation battle.

Grant, 56, joined West Ham on a four-year deal in June 2010.

After a poor start to the season, the Israeli s future became the subject of frequent speculation.

In January he was reportedly close to being replaced by former Aston Villa manager Martin O Neill.

Grant was ultimately unsuccessful in his battle to keep West Ham in the English Premier League.

They were relegated on Sunday after losing 3-2 away to Wigan, with the club s owners apparently relieving Grant of his duties just minutes after the final whistle.

And now a close friend of the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss has revealed Grant s d…

Ferguson hails squad unity

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the unity in his side holds the key to beating Barcelona in Saturday s Champions League final at Wembley.

United were beaten by Pep Guardiola s team at this stage two years ago when Samuel Eto o and Lionel Messi struck to secure a 2-0 victory in Rome.

But Ferguson insists an increased sense of togetherness can carry his side over the line this time around, and that a number of key players have matured since that night in Rome.

All these teams have different qualities of course but I think the great quality this team has is its unity, Ferguson said on Friday.

It s different from other teams in some ways. There are not a great deal of changes between this team and the one that lost in 2008.

T…