West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has again spoken of how close Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez came to taking the Irons' job.
Benitez was one of the favourites to take the West Ham job before Slaven Bilic was chosen to take charge.
"Rafa Benitez was within three hours of signing for us," Sullivan told the London Evening Standard.
"Every clause in his contract was agreed and then he went to Real Madrid. It was a real blow because he is a really experienced manager in England and done really well in Italy. We had an agreement in place but you have to pick yourself up, look who else is available and pick the best you can.
"Whoever you take is a gamble. The bottom line is we have a manager. He has our 100 per cent support. We will support him in the transfer market. We like him."