DAVID GOLD is supposed to be the sensible one of the Two Davids who have taken control at Upton Park – but you wouldn t think that if you saw him after last week s victory over Birmingham City. It looked like the 73-year-old joint-chairman had kicked ever

DAVID GOLD is supposed to be the sensible one of the Two Davids who have taken control at Upton Park - but you wouldn't think that if you saw him after last week's victory over Birmingham City.

It looked like the 73-year-old joint-chairman had kicked every ball with the players after the battling 2-1 win over his old club, and he was certainly feeling it.

"Carlton Cole is laid out," he exclaimed. "With 10 minutes to go he could barely breathe, but what he didn't know is I was in exactly the same state and I hadn't kicked a ball!"

Hopefully, Gold has got a strong heart. He may well need it to get through the next couple of months, and he feels that it is the nerves of everyone at the club that is affecting the performances on the field.

"The fear and the stress of the fans has been one of the big problems," he explained. "The fans are nervous, the players are nervous, the management's nervous, everyone's nervous - it's hard to handle.

"This is my fourth game. I snuck in for a couple before we took over, including the Burnley game, but even that one saw us winning 5-0 and then suddenly 10 minutes later it was 5-3."

However, Gold now hopes that the team have finally turned the corner.

"What changes it completely is the victory against Birmingham" he said. "It's only the fifth victory of the season, but now it's happened you would hope it will again.

"I've got to tell you, we've got good players, but even good players get nervous and therefore it becomes more difficult."

Gold's co-owner David Sullivan made some provocative statements before last week's game, suggesting that all the players will have to take a big cut in their wages next season.

It may have been to stir up the players for the match, as Sullivan suggested, but the steadier Gold feels that the players don't necessarily need such announcements to make them more fired up.

"You could make a case that the players are driven by what's going on in the press," he said. "But my personal view is that they are going out and giving their all for the football club."

Looking at him after the victory, it looks like exactly the same could be said of David Gold.