Etherington Signs New West Ham Contact

Matthew Etherington has signed a new contract with West Ham which could keep him at the club until the summer of 2012. Etherington said on signing his new deal,

"I am delighted to have signed a new contract and commit my future to West Ham. I have always been happy here since the day I arrived and I look forward to the next four-and-a-half years."

Etherington's new deal puts paid to the rumours that said all contract renegotiations at the club had been put off until the summer. There have been suggestions that Ashton and Neil in particular are unhappy with their present deals, which see them being paid far less than the summer signings, but that the club were tightening the purse strings and would not be signing any new deals until the end of the season.