Former Hammers academy chief Tony Carr is looking to repair any damage that has been done with the club since his departure.
Carr is responsible for the development of some of the club’s finest footballers and his legacy can never be under-estimated.
Back in 2014 he adopted an ambassadorial role at the club as the owners brought in Terry Westley to take over amid claims that his relationship with the Davids and Karren Brady had broken down.
Westley has since made a big success of the academy again but Carr’s contribution down the years can never be forgotten after grooming such as Frank Lampard, Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson and Jermain Defoe to true greatness.
Since his departure little has been heard of him in his ‘ambassador’ role but he still attends games whenever he can get hold of a spare ticket.
It’s not an ideal situation and one that he appears ready to remedy after four years away from the club in a truly official capacity.
And Speaking to the Daily Telegraph – in probably his first public pronouncement since leaving – he has made it clear he wants to rebuild any bridges that have been broken
He had claimed his treatment had been “disrespectful ” at the time but now says: “The club decided they wanted a clean break and I just got the impression I had to leave.
“I’ve got no animosity towards anyone there, everyone moves on with their lives and I see things a lot differently now to how I did two years ago. A lot of water goes under the bridge, so you reflect and look back and I suppose my anger at the time was the disappointment at the situation.
“They have always been and will always be my club and if there was any way in the future I could go back and be of some value somewhere I would be happy to do that,” he says. “If there were any bridges broken then I’d like to rebuild them. My phone number is still the same.”
He has watched with great interest from the terraces and pays tribute to Manuel Pellegrini for showing great faith in Declan Rice declaring: “The manager needs a lot of credit for keeping him in the team.
“He has been put in and has not played brilliantly every game, but the manager stuck with him. That’s because he believes in him and he’s gone from strength to strength.”