West Ham United today confirmed that Avram Grant will continue in his role as first-team manager.

It appeared that a successor would be appointed following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Arsenal, after which the Israeli manager threw his scarf into the crowd.

There was speculation that Martin O’Neill, the former Aston Villa boss, would be appointed but it has been reported that he was unwilling to put himself forward while Grant remained in charge.

The revelations come a month after David Gold, the co-owner, told me that he “would be disappointed if Grant was not with the club in five years”.

It now appears that the club are willing to back the manager.

A statement on the West Ham website said: “The club are committed to retaining Avram Grant as manager and have identified potential transfer targets to give us the best possible chance of retaining Premier League status.”

Grant received support from a host of Premier League managers over the weekend.

West Ham’s next match is against Everton on Saturday followed by the Carling Cup second leg against Birmingham City, whom they beat 2-1 at Upton Park in the first leg last week.