There was a time when Tony Cottee found it difficult to find nice things to say about West Ham United’s co-owners.
A boyhood West Ham fan who went on to become a legend with the club and a goalscorer to boot.
A dream scenario you might think.
But for Cottee – coupled with his job as a football pundit for Sky – it means being one of the first in line to talk about his old team when times are good and bad.
Tony Cottee the go-to West Ham spokesman
Until last season – and with the exception of the farewell campaign at the Boleyn – there has been plenty of bad at West Ham under David Sullivan and David Gold.
The duo took over the Hammers in 2010 promising a brighter future.
It has been anything but straightforward, though.
Angry protests last year were the culmination of years of festering unrest.
Cottee made his opinions clear too, telling The Mirror the club had hit rock bottom.
West Ham supporters had finally had enough of the broken promises over the stadium move, ambition and transfer spending.
But in fairness to the owners they listened, made changes and came good on many of their pledges last year.
Bridges being built
That has resulted in a much more contented West Ham fanbase.
And it looks like the sun has finally broken through the storm clouds which had engulfed the London Stadium.
Many West Ham fans are still unsure of the owners. And that is their right.
But many, like the legendary Cottee have come full circle and are appreciative of the job being done of late to push West Ham in the right direction.
Cottee a board convert?
Speaking to the club’s official website, Cottee praised the owners, not something he has been used to doing too much over the last 20 years let alone the last nine.
“Credit to the club, they’re trying to do things the right way,” Cottee told whufc.com.
“We’ve brought in three players already and I don’t think we need loads and loads. We’re not far away from getting our squad in a position (where we need to be)…
“We are not buying players for £4m now, we’re buying players for £24m and that shows you where the club are. We’re a top 10 club – we finished 10th last year and we’ve got to build on that. We’ve got to push on.”