Grant joins W. Ham

West Ham have appointed Avram Grant as their new manager on a four-year contract, subject to a work permit, the Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

The Hammers have been searching for a boss since Gianfranco Zola was sacked at the end of an unsuccessful season for the east London outfit.

The 55-year-old Israeli led Portsmouth to last month's FA Cup final before leaving Fratton Park two weeks ago and also coached Chelsea into the 2008 Champions League final.

"I'm proud and honoured to be the manager of West Ham. It's an exciting challenge and I'm ready to do my best," Grant said.

West Ham narrowly avoided the drop last season as they finished fourth from bottom of the Premier League and the club's co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold were keen to appoint a more experienced boss.

Grant fills that billing perfectly after his spell in charge of Chelsea, which ended in 2008 shortly after the team's penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League final. He returned to the Premier League with Portsmouth last October, first as director of football and then as manager following Paul Hart's exit.

Despite horrendous financial constraints which left the club in administration with debts of over £130 million and the team relegated due to a nine-point deduction, Grant won praise for the way he kept his players motivated on the road to Wembley in the FA Cup.

However, Grant will be looking forward to focusing solely on football matters rather than money problems when he arrives at Upton Park.

"West Ham is a fantastic club," Grant said. "I'm already looking forward to getting to work with my players in July and preparing for the new season."