I`m staying put at Upton Park: Neill

West Ham's Australian captain Lucas Neill says he has no plans to leave the troubled English Premier League club despite it being put up for sale.
West Ham's Icelandic owner, businessman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, has put the club up
for sale for STG250 million ($A550.24 million) after falling victim to the global
credit crunch.
The sale has sparked reports that West Ham might try and offload some of their more
expensive players, including Neill who earns a reported STG70,000 ($A154,070) a
week.
But Neill, whose contract expires in the middle of 2009, says he has no plans to
leave and wants to finish his career at Upton Park.
"Inside the dressing room you can take it straight from me that no one's thinking
about leaving," Neill told Sky Sports in Britain.
"I've had assurances from the manager that he wants me to stay.
"I can't speak from a financial or board point of view but from a player or coaching
point of view, the squad needs to stay together."
Neill also denied reports that he had threatened to leave on a free transfer if he
wasn't given a pay rise.
"No, not at all," he said.
"My reaction was to laugh it off. Obviously because it's clearly untrue, but for
40,000 West Ham fans there is a different reaction. The first one is 'how dare he?'
and 'how greedy'.
"I know the situation with the club and the way things have gone. I love the club. I
love the role that I have. I relish the challenge.
"It's just for me now being 31 in March, it's about being able to play as long as I
can."
Neill has held initial talks with the club about an extension to his contract, but
the length and terms of any deal have not been finalised.
"There's been no talk of how long, how much," he said.
"It's just been a case of me saying I want to finish my career at West Ham.
" ... When the time is right and when the time is right for the club, because it's
not their priority at the moment, then we'll do it."