Sakho: Senegal coach lacks courage

Sakho last played appeared for his country in a friendly against Kosovo last May but has since been snubbed by Giresse.

The London Evening Standard quotes Sakho as saying: “When I signed for West Ham, he [Giresse] phoned me and said that as I was changing clubs he will want to see how it goes.But then I started scoring goal after goal and many people in Senegal asked for my call-up. “I didn’t hear from him. It is a lack of courage.”

Giresse explained: “There is a lot of competition for attacking spots in our team. There are more experienced players like Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Moussa Sow. Diafra is new to the top level. He is having a good start at West Ham and I will continue to monitor him.”

Meanwhile, West Ham hope to have Cheikhou Kouyate available for this weekend’s visit of Manchester City after recovering from a thigh injury.