West Ham United: Hundreds of Hammers supporters stage protest against owners

Hundreds of fans protest outside London Stadium against West Ham's owners

Hundreds of West Ham supporters staged a protest against the club's co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold.

Fans gathered outside London Stadium before the Hammers faced Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

The protest, organised by fans' group Hammers United, coincides with Sullivan and Gold's 10-year anniversary in charge of the club.

The group are unhappy about the club's current position - two places and one point above the relegation zone.

They say they were made promises surrounding West Ham's controversial move out of Upton Park in 2016 which have not been kept.

"Many fans have sacrificed a great deal of what they hold dear about West Ham," said a Hammers United statement.

"This sacrifice was made on the understanding that more, a lot more, would be forthcoming than just the survival of the club," the group said in a statement.

There has been resentment over the club's co-chairmen, plus managing director and vice-chairman Baroness Brady, over a number of years.

Speaking before the match against Everton, the organisation said once the protest was over they would offer full support to David Moyes' team during the game.

Sullivan and Gold respond

In a message to fans on the West Ham website, Sullivan and Gold said that "mistakes have been made" during their tenure but that their "determination and desire to bring success to this football club" remained.

"Despite our best efforts we have not made the progress, in a football sense, that we all hoped for and expected following the move to London Stadium almost four years ago," they said.

"We accept that mistakes have been made and that there are some things we might have done differently.

"But that doesn't take away the fact that a lot of people at this club are working extremely hard, every single day, to move this club forward in the right direction and we will keep doing that until we reach our targets.

"Overall, we believe the club is in a far better position than it was 10 years ago. Not everyone will agree with all of our decisions and we have some regrets, including the appointments of some managers, but we feel we have the right one now in David Moyes, and we are confident he will do well for us.

"What we truly believe is that we now have the platform to be successful in the long-term."