Of all the attributes lacking in West Ham’s senior squad just now, probably the toughest one to instil is that of mental toughness: How many times the Hammers have caved in from winning positions or looked frail and brittle from set pieces: The exodus of experience last summer cost the club dear.

The Hammers even installed a sports psychologist in Graham Potter’s disastrous era to try and stop the fear of losing permeating through the whole team: Whoever he was, I’ll bet that was his toughest gig yet.

Without experienced old hands such as Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal and vice captain Aaron Cresswell, the side has on occasion looked distinctly short on moral fibre and the backbone needed to repel opponents and hang onto points.

Not the time to part with a warrior- Tomas Soucek

Which is why the latest report of Galatasaray planning to test David Sullivan’s resolve with another attempt to sign Tomas Soucek needs to be rebuffed immediately. Sportwitness.co.uk break the news that the Turkish giants are casting envious eyes at London Stadium:

“Galatasaray are showing interest in West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček, with the story breaking in the Czech media today....