It’s hard to be a spectator as we look to battle back

9:21am Thursday 11th October 2007

FOR me, this week is all about getting fit.

My hamstring is still not 100 per cent and the break for internationals gives me the extra time I need to recover.

I'm getting stronger and stronger every day and I'm hoping to be ready for the Sunderland game.

Most players are away with their national teams because of the quality we have in the squad here at West Ham, and with so many injuries, I don't think there are too many people left in training.

But I can't wait to get back to it. I find missing even one day difficult.

It was hard to sit on the bench on Saturday and watch the game at Aston Villa.

I always want to be involved and it would have been good to face my old skipper Nigel Reo-Coker out there.

I spent most of the day with him and it was good to catch up. As you can imagine he was pleased with the result.

He got some stick from the West Ham fans, but not as much as I think he might get at Upton Park. Unfortunately Marlon Harewood was ill, so it wasn't quite the reunion we were hoping for.

After three defeats in a row, we want a big result against Sunderland next week.

It's important to get us back on track and I think the boys will be fired up for it.

I'm going to the training ground every day for treatment so I'll be fit.

I went to the Bobby Moore Charity Ball at Old Billingsgate Market on Friday.

David Seaman, the patron, hosted a charity auction and I paid £4,000 for the chance to go out to South Africa or Brazil and help build a school for underprivileged children.

I'm hoping it will happen at a time when I'm free to go, but if not they will still get the money.

It's a wonderful cause. I would love to visit a different culture and see how they live. When people have it hard out there, it's so much worse than here. I knew I had to do my bit to help.

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