West Ham ponder new Dorrans bid

West Ham co-owner David Gold today claimed the Hammers could increase their bid for West Bromwich Albion's Graham Dorrans despite another 'hands off' warning from The Hawthorns.

Boss Roberto Di Matteo again warned potential vultures that the Baggies have no plans to sell star man Dorrans, who was the subject of a failed £4m from Upton Park on Tuesday.

But West Ham chairman and former Blues supremo David Gold claimed his new club could make an improved offer, despite Hammers manager Gianfranco Zola claiming to have no knowledge of the original move.

"A second bid is possible," said Gold. "He is one of the players we are looking at.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens on that. The player is a favourite of mine. He is a young British player who we like but, having said that, sometimes deals don't work out and you have to move on."

Gold also claimed "everyone was involved in the decision-making" - but his comments were at odds with his manager, who said he had no prior knowledge of the offer for Dorrans.

"I found out in the newspapers," said the Italian. "It was quite a surprise.

"I know he is a good player and had a very good season but I didn't know the club was interested in him."

Meanwhile, Zola's friend and former Chelsea team-mate Di Matteo remains determined to keep player-of-the-season Dorrans for Albion's return to the Premier League.

And the West Bromwich Albion head coach has echoed chairman Jeremy Peace's comment that Dorrans is not for sale.

Di Matteo said: "We don't want to sell any of our core players. We've quite clearly said that.

"It just shows we have some good players here if other clubs are interested.

"I can't read the future and we will see what happens in the summer but we are in the position where we don't have to sell, which is a good position to be in.

"We don't want to sell. We want to strengthen, not weaken the team."

By Steve Madeley