West Ham’s home defeat to Everton last Sunday was generally considered unfortunate.   However, it still made the English Premier League table grim reading, as Hull City’s victory over Stoke put Gianfranco Zola’s men back in the bottom three.   And West Ham are preparing themselves for another fight in January, after reported interest from Liverpool in top-scorer Carlton Cole.   Pressure to sell has mounted, however, with news that former manager Alan Curbishley last week won his case against the club for constructive dismissal.

Meanwhile, interest in a West Ham takeover from the “Intermarket Group” appears to have firmed up this week, with talk of a deal being done next month.

Unlike previous occasions when West Ham have been in the bottom three, all teams surrounding them in the table have played 12 games, and West Ham find themselves 18^th, with all but a third of the season gone.

The Hammers were caught by two Everton sucker punches at Upton Park.

And they missed numerous chances, despite pulling a goal back 90 seconds after going two-down, when Toffees defender Tony Hibbert sliced a Junior Stanislaus shot into his own net.

The Hammers cutting edge was missing largely because striker Carlton Cole was.   The club have, therefore, slapped a £20m price tag on the in-form frontman.

They will also be keen to hang on to Cole as fellow striker Dean Ashton looks likely to announce his retirement from football next month.

The 25-year-old Ashton broke his ankle in August 2006 and after damaging it again fourteen months ago, he has struggled to recover. It is believed that a forthcoming announcement on Ashton’s future could be an announcement of his retirement.

Takeover talk hit the back pages again last week. David Byrne, of the London-based ‘Intermarketing Group’ announced that a consortium of “high net-worth individuals” who are also Hammers fans had provided proof of funding for a takeover.

They have signed a ‘non-disclosure agreement with Rothschilds, one of the investment banks charged with bringing new investment into the club.

Byrne responded to initial scepticism about the bid, which was announced in the News of the World last month, saying: “We are West Ham supporters, we are deadly serious and we have satisfied Rothschilds that we are deadly serious.”

However, the consortium’s valuation of the club and its debts at £100m is thought to be unacceptably low, especially in the wake of the announcement that former Irons’ boss Alan Curbishley won his constructive dismissal case against the club.

Curbishley resigned last September after George McCartney was sold to Sunderland expressly against his wishes.

And a Premier League Managers’ arbitration tribunal found that “the conduct of the club was a repudiation of (Curbishley’s) contract (and) he was, therefore, entitled to resign.”

The tribunal will reconvene shortly to decide on compensation. Reports have suggested figures between £2.5-4m, which would put significant strain on West Ham’s stretched finances.