MK Dons boss Paul Ince has big fears over the future of former club West Ham United.

In his column for the News of the World, Ince wrote: "I consider myself a West Ham boy. I came up through the ranks and there have been people at the club over the years who have been fantastic.

"John Lyall wasn't just my manager, he was like a surrogate father to me.

"And it's breaking my heart to see West Ham in trouble on the pitch because I remember how much it hurt when we got relegated back in the 1980s.

"It almost hurts as much to see the turmoil the club are in off the pitch and the pressure that is putting on Gianfranco Zola. Franco is a legend, a great player and a top bloke but I can see the weight dragging him down.

"I should know, I was there a year or so ago. At Blackburn we had the smallest budget in the Premier League, we were losing games and it was difficult to see a way out of it, not helped by the fact important players like Roque Santa Cruz and David Dunn were missing.

"Zola at least has the likes of Robert Green, Scott Parker and Matthew Upson he can turn to. But even England internationals can get sucked into a vicious circle when confidence is low and you're losing to the likes of Birmingham and Bolton.

"For experienced managers, that's a tough cycle to break."