If he’s not up for the fight, cut him loose

YOU cannot tell me that Dimitri Payet has shown the same interest or hunger as he did last season.

I have watched a lot of West Ham this season and Payet has looked like he doesn’t want to be there. He doesn’t seem as fit as he did last season and his body language smacks of a player who wants to leave.

After shining for France at Euro 2016 Payet has clearly thought: ‘I am too good for this. This is not for me any more.’ He will feel like he should be playing for one of Europe’s elite clubs.

Neither his head nor his heart lie in east London and it is clear that he has been tapped up.

By refusing to play, Payet has disrespected both the club — who have looked after him well with a five-year, £125,000-a-week contract — and the supporters who idolise him.

It would be a great shame if Payet left the Premier League. I am not a West Ham fan but admire the player so much that when I went to the first game at the Olympic Stadium I bought a Payet kit for each of my boys.

West Ham now have two options. Slaven Bilic must speak to Mark Noble and the other senior players. If they say Payet isn’t up for the fight, the club must cut their losses and let him go.

If you have a rotten apple in the dressing room, the negativity spreads. You cannot afford to have someone who does not want to be there — even if he is your best player.

West Ham would need to be clever in how they re-invested the money to bring in players who want to keep the club in the Premier League.

The alternative is for Bilic to try to persuade Payet to help keep West Ham up then let him go in the summer.

But I think Payet’s head has been turned. While he may not go to Marseille, I don’t think Payet will be a West Ham player this time next month.