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Avram Grant believes West Ham have suffered at the hands of referees more than any other team this season and could have already secured Premier League safety had it not been for dubious decisions against them.

The Hammers are 17th and outside the relegation places on goal difference alone as they head into their Saturday lunchtime clash with leaders Manchester United at Upton Park.

Grant believes teams will need 40 points or more to secure their top-flight status this year and thinks his side could be ten points better off had they had better luck with referees.

“I think we have suffered more than any other team because in the very deciding moments, as everyone has seen on the television, the decision was against us too many times,” he said.

“If the decision was right, we would have had at least ten points more. But this is part of the game, sometimes there are decisions against you. You can accept one decision that was for us, but most of the decisions were against us.”

Speaking on Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments that his side has suffered from poor decisions recently, he continued: “Everybody understands what Alex said and what he spoke about in the last games. I don’t know about Man United, I think about us. This is referees – sometimes they make mistakes.”

Refereeing decisions have been increasingly scrutinised in recent times and both Ferguson and Grant have been reprimanded by the Football Association in the past month for comments about decisions.

However, the latter does not believe refereeing standards are slipping and thinks mistakes are due to the changing nature of the game.

“I think if you look at games even five years ago and now – and I suggest to everybody that they look – the game is much quicker, more players are athletes,” he said.

“Even if you look ten years ago half of the players were athletes and half were technical. So the game has become more physical and more quick, and it is more difficult for the referees to take decisions.”

He added: “I have a few ideas but I don’t want to speak about this now because sometimes when I say what I think, people think I am criticising the referee, which I don’t have any intention to do.”

Grant was charged with improper conduct by the FA in March following comments he made about match official Mike Jones after his side’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Stoke.

The West Ham boss denied the charge and a personal hearing will be scheduled at a date no later than April 7.

Asked what was the worst decision against his side this season, he responded: “The last time I answered very honestly and the FA charged me so let’s say that all the decisions were great.”

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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has revealed Steven Gerrard has almost completed his recovery after groin surgery, but he will wait and see whether the club captain will face West Brom on Saturday.

Dalglish believes Gerrard could play in the match after participating in much of training this week, but will not take any risks – as he believes there are players in the squad more than capable of deputising for at least another week.

“We’ll have a look. He’s recovered really well from the surgery he had so we’ll see how he is before we decide whether he’s in or out,” Dalglish said. “He’s certainly done a lot of training this week – not all the training the other lads have done, but a lot of it.

“But two weekends ago at Sunderland wee Jay [Spearing] played really well. There is no need for us to be in a rush to bring Steven back.”

Dalglish was relieved to see all his players return from international duty without picking up injuries. However, he did reveal Martin Kelly and Fabio Aurelio have suffered slight setbacks that could well keep them out of action at the weekend.

“Everyone has come back from international matches okay,” Dalglish said. “Martin Kelly picked up an injury while he was trying to recuperate and Jonjo Shelvey is back training. Kelly has just had a wee recurrence in the same area. Fabio Aurelio has had a setback as well but it isn’t the same injury. He should be training before the end of the week.”

Club record signing Andy Carroll opened his goalscoring account for England in midweek, an achievement Dalglish believes the 22-year-old can rightfully be proud of. The Scot also paid tribute to Fabio Capello’s handling of the Liverpool players he picked for both of the Three Lions’ games.

“It’s a great milestone for Andy to score his first goal, especially at Wembley,” he said. “It’s a great reward for him as well after his recuperation. It will give him a lift, kick him on further and it’s a great reflection of how he’s got on with his work and how our medical team has worked to get him there.

“The 60 minutes he got for England was very helpful in his recuperation and his fight to get back to full fitness. The way England treated our players was fantastic: the way they gave Andy the hour because they knew it wouldn’t be beneficial to play him longer, and the way they gave Glen Johnson 45 minutes because he had a slight problem with his Achilles. They were very professional and respectful with the way they treated both of our players.”

Dalglish admitted Liverpool are still working out how best to utilise Carroll tactically – especially the frequency of long balls played up to him.

“Sometimes when you’re struggling a wee bit it’s a great asset to have but we’ve got to pick and choose our moments,” he noted. “It’s up to us to get to know Andy, and Andy to get to know us. I don’t think we’ve done too badly in the game and a bit he’s played for us. We were better the second time than we were the first.

“We’ve got intelligent lads here and I’m sure they’ll work out when’s right and when’s wrong and they’ll get it right most of the time.”

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Manchester City defender Kolo Toure says he hopes to be “back soon” from suspension after failing a drugs test.

The Football Association suspended Toure after he tested positive for a “specified substance” that his former manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, said was one of the defender’s wife’s diet pills.

Neither his club nor the FA have revealed what Toure has tested positive for, and the player, 30, is now awaiting the results of his B sample.

When asked at the Soccerex conference in Manchester if he had a message for City fans, he said: “I will be back soon – I hope so.”

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Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier says he can still count on the full backing of Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner.

The Villa boss is under real pressure following a poor run of form that has seen the club slip to within one point of the relegation zone, and some supporters have called for his dismissal.

However, Houllier remains convinced that Lerner and Faulkner are supportive of him as the club goes through a difficult period.

Houllier, whose side visit Everton on Saturday, said: “I speak to Randy Lerner on a regular basis and I speak also to Paul Faulkner a minimum of once a day. We are very close and very tight together. We know what we are going through.

“It is important to be in a club where there is a strong belief and the trust is there. I think their support for me is just as strong. In fact, I am convinced of that.”

Houllier has dismissed suggestions of a dressing-room revolt but says he is ready to exile players who do not demonstrate they are fully commited to the cause.

He said: “I believe the club is unified. If someone is not with us and not giving more than 100%, he’s got to leave because we won’t make it. But I think we are all right and there is no problem.

“The spirit is good, we know where the land lies, we’re not lying to ourselves, we are in a relegation battle, like others and we are aware of that. At the same time we have the quality and mentality to deal with that.”

Houllier also denied suggestions he has implemented a hard-line regime, despite reports that some players were unhappy about rules regarding the use of mobile phones.

He said: “Regarding the mobile phones, I only mentioned it on my first day but there was no ban. In fact, they are very reasonable because there is no use of them in the changing room and I don’t go and check it.

“I heard about fines but I’ve never put a fine on a player who’s been late. If someone comes in from London and they get stuck in a traffic jam, they ring.

“You are not going to give them another bang on their head by fining them. It has happened maybe once or twice. I hate fines and I never give fines.”

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Homegrown talents generate an added excitement. The assumption of ingrained loyalty means these are the footballers fans can identify with. The promise their ability offers means they are the men around whom managers can plan long-term. Tomorrow can seem the consolation when today disappoints.

It is, therefore, anathema to suggest the future may be brighter without the local prodigy, yet that might prove the unappealing conclusion Everton will reach. Jack Rodwell is the most gifted player produced at Goodison Park since Wayne Rooney. He is also David Moyes’ best chance of the sort of windfall that would enable him to overhaul his side. It puts the Scot in an unenviable position, pitting his idealism and his fierce pride in all things Everton against the pragmatic recognition of his club’s financial position.

Bill Kenwright’s lengthy quest to find investment has not succeeded. That means it can only be generated internally and, with Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta having signed long-term contracts and much of Moyes’ squad approaching or past their 30th birthdays, there are few routes to a sizeable budget.

The preferred approach would be to sell Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, the £10 million misfit whose wonderful left foot is negated by the doubts about the other elements of his game. Johnny Heitinga has had a stop-start season amid suspicions the World Cup finalist is unsettled while Marouane Fellaini has been of interest to Chelsea before. The Belgian can veer between barnstorming brilliance and infuriating ineffectiveness but he remains part of Moyes’ first-choice team.

The same cannot be said for Rodwell. For all his abundant ability, the 20-year-old is more of an asset on the balance sheet than the playing field at the moment. A season interrupted by ankle problems has probably reached its premature end after a mere ten league starts. A mooted price of anything from £15 million to £25 million would be ample compensation for his present endeavours.

The value lies in his potential. Along with Jack Wilshere and Josh McEachran, it is easy to envisage Rodwell forming the cornerstone of England’s midfield for years to come. If that is not the case, it may be because the Merseysider, long compared to Rio Ferdinand, has evolved into an elegant, ball-playing central defender.

That versatility and his youth explain why he is the likeliest Evertonian to generate a bid. Like Rooney before him, he is the object of covetous glances from Old Trafford. Once a Blue, always a target for Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps, but the combination of his willingness to spend on emerging players and Rodwell’s particularly well-taken goal against Manchester United in February 2010 suggests a move along the East Lancs Road.

The precedent may depress Evertonians, but it should also encourage them. Much as Rooney’s exit seven years ago illustrated that lifelong support did not blind him to the fact that he could not realise his ambitions at Goodison Park, Everton reaped a double benefit from his sale. The season he left, Moyes’ men finished fourth – perhaps a proof of the manager’s ability to rally the team in unprepossessing circumstances – and the money allowed for an extensive revamp, leaving a legacy that lasts until today.

Tim Cahill signed just before Rooney left and some of the proceeds were spent on Arteta and Phil Neville. While other recruits like Per Kroldrup and James Beattie failed – and it is worth pointing out that now, unlike then, Moyes’ budget is so small he has no margin for error – the fees recouped had a knock-on effect: the striker left for Sheffield United as Phil Jagielka made the opposite journey while the Dane’s departure helped fund the signing of Joleon Lescott. He, in turn, was sold for £22 million, which allowed for the purchase of Heitinga, Bilyaletdinov and Sylvain Distin. Indirectly, Rooney funded most of Everton’s transfer activity for five years.

Moreover, his impact was sporadic at Goodison Park. While his superlative first Premier League goal against Arsenal remains lodged in the memory – much as Rodwell gliding through the United defence last season does – Everton achieved most success with the teenager as the impact substitute and Kevin Campbell partnering Tomasz Radzinski in attack. It sounds strange now just as, in years to come, it may appear unusual that Moyes often deployed Rodwell from the bench and, on occasions, picked him on the right of midfield just to get him in the side.

The Scot deems Rodwell an attacking central midfielder now. Yet, if Cahill, Arteta and Fellaini are all available, it is impossible to accommodate him in the middle of the pitch. Moreover, in the Belgian’s frequent absences, he often prefers to use Neville or Heitinga to provide the steel alongside Arteta’s silk. A reluctance to select Rodwell in defence, where Heitinga and even Tony Hibbert provide understudies to Distin and Jagielka, mean he is often confined to the sidelines. At the moment, he is a deluxe bit-part player.

Moyes has been predictably defiant in insisting he doesn’t want to sell Rodwell and, in an ideal world, he wouldn’t. Though the England Under-21 international has been on the fringes recently, he has talked about building a team around this particular Jack the lad. Instead, he could buy much of a team because of him.

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