Di Canio: Dicks is a traitor

West Ham captain Paolo Di Canio today hit back at Julian Dicks, labelling him a "traitor" to the club. The former Hammer accused the Italian of picking his games and criticised the present team for their lack of passion, but Di Canio fumed: "Dicks is a traitor to West Ham.

"He has criticised me for not playing in away games, suggesting I'm not really injured when the fixtures in the north of England are played.

"He, and a newspaper, have used a statistic saying I've played in just three games in the north instead of a possible 19. They have printed a pack of lies. I am an intelligent man and I know the real statistics.

"Since I've been at West Ham we have played 34 matches in the north and I have played in 17 of them.

"Of the 17 I missed, I was suspended for five matches and injured for the other 12. Do you want to know West Ham's record in those games? In the 17 I played we got a total of 20 points and in the ones I missed, we sadly made just five points.

"Why would I deliberately want to miss matches when I have such an influence on the results. It's crazy.

"They used Man United, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Newcastle as the northern clubs. Even I know Sunderland, Everton, Blackburn, Bradford, Man City, Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton are also in the north! I know my geography."

Di Canio added: "Dicks talks big about his passion and heart for the club, accusing today's players of not having what he had, but fans should not forget what he was really like.

"How much passion did he have for West Ham when he couldn't wait to run to Liverpool to sign for them?

"Then, after a year, when he was kicked out for not being good enough for Liverpool, he came running back to West Ham, trying to be a hero. He didn't come back for love, that's for sure. I'd love to stay here next season-even if we're relegated. That is real love and passion for the club.

"Dicks didn't act totally professionally and didn't train properly while at the club. This isn't a good example for the kids. He was more interested in playing golf than working hard to play for West Ham again.

"Maybe if Dicks was a real fan he would give encouragement and not make negative comments.

"After all, he never spoke about how good we did when we finished fifth, won the InterToto Cup and qualified for the UEFA Cup."