West Ham owners stand by Birmingham reign: Look at Portsmouth, Palace

David Gold and David Sullivan, West Ham United's new owners, believe they did the right thing by former club Birmingham City.

The pair never won a place in the hearts of Birmingham supporters despite their success. They arrived with the club on an unstoppable slide into the third tier of English football and took it into the Barclays Premier League, developing a reputation as wealthy but prudent owners.

Sullivan told the Daily Mail: "Two years ago all our fans were saying, 'Why don’t you do what Portsmouth are doing?' and I said: ‘Well, is it an achievement to lose £38m in a season and extend your credit to win the FA Cup on a fluke year when Barnsley knock out Chelsea and Liverpool?'

"Everyone thinks it’s bloody marvellous. I don’t think it is. But that’s not what people want to hear. Maybe now they look back and think it was right. They might not if they see one or two clubs, like Pompey or Crystal Palace, going out of business or getting relegated one or two divisions because they go into receivership rather than administration."