Brooking pins survival hopes on Arsenal

Seven times yesterday Trevor Brooking repeated that he will be West Ham United's caretaker manager for just two and a half weeks. If results go against the club this weekend, the worth of the tenure could be even briefer.

Relegation from the Premiership, which Brooking has said will threaten the heart and soul of West Ham, could be sealed by 4pm tomorrow. If Bolton overcome Arsenal today, and West Ham lose to Manchester City, then it is all over.

Heart and soul. It was much in evidence as Brooking talked earnestly at West Ham's Chadwell Heath training ground – a short drive from his home in Shenfield and his birthplace in Barking. "East Enders are very loyal people and we tend to close ranks when in a situation like this," he said. "The reaction over the last 48 hours has been fantastic."

The "situation" has been brought about by the illness of the manager, Glenn Roeder. He was still undergoing tests yesterday and will be in hospital for some time after suffering a blocked blood vessel in the brain. Such has been the suddenness of Brooking's appointment that it had not even dawned on him to ask whether he will be paid for his duties. He looked genuinely puzzled when the question was asked. This is a task he has taken on for love, not money.

It would have been "insensitive and unfair", he said, to have brought in what he called "someone from the outside".

Brooking, a non-executive director and, of course, a playing legend, added: "I was asked if I would consider doing it. And the feeling was that it would make everyone solid for the task ahead." That task, he said, was daunting, so he will be in the dug-out at Maine Road – "it is the only place to be" – rather than the commentary box for Radio Five Live's coverage of Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester United.

He will sit opposite his former England team-mate and friend Kevin Keegan. "Yeah, the little man," he said. "It's a bit of an irony, isn't it?" And as he spoke there was a raw desire to roll back the years and take to the turf himself. "To be honest, I would prefer to be playing because the ultimate is in your hands," Brooking said. "But the next best thing is to try and galvanise everyone into getting what you want."

Added to the mix is the detail that in Brooking's last season as a player, 1983-84, Keegan and Roeder were team-mates in the Newcastle United side which won promotion to the old First Division. It was something Brooking himself noted.

Management has not appealed. After his playing days, Brooking, now 54, slipped happily into punditry. "I enjoy sitting back there," he said pointing to beyond the massed ranks of reporters, "listening to everyone struggle up here as they get asked the questions." But what about the reality of the dug-out? "I watched my son when he was little and I was pretty passive – but I'm sure there will be moments when I won't be."

Motivating the players, Brooking maintained, will not be a problem. "What has happened is unprecedented and I don't think that anyone sitting in our dressing room will need much motivating."

Michael Carrick and Lee Bowyer will not be there, both injured, while, inevitably, questions dwelled on Paolo Di Canio – absent with persistent gastric problems – and a player Brooking once selected for his all-time West Ham XI.

"Look, we are trying to win three games and at some stage I am sure, with half an hour to go, we will want as many attacking options as we can get," he said, before adding: "No one is guaranteed a place and Paolo accepts that."

What price the Italian clambering from his sick bed to score the winning goal? Brooking is not dreaming, though. The reality is that nothing less than three wins will do.

The next quote is perhaps telling. "What we want to make sure is that when we do go down we will have given our all and I don't think anyone would expect anything different." When they go down? A slip of the tongue or an honest admission? Brooking will undoubtedly provide "continuity" but is that what is needed? We will know soon enough.