I am staying, says Lampard

West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard, who earned his side a crucial point in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday, is staying at Upton Park.

Lampard has been linked with a £10 million summer switch to Leeds United, the same club that bought former team-mate Rio Ferdinand for £18m earlier in the the season.

But the 22-year-old today reassured anxious fans that he will not be the next youth product to leave the club.

Lampard said: "It was a bit of a surprise to see my face plastered all over the back of the papers linking me with a move to Leeds.

"I take it as a compliment to be linked with a big-money move to a big-name club but we've seen and read all these stories before.

"I've always said that I'm here to concentrate on playing for West Ham and I just want to keep my head down and focus upon getting us the few more points that we need to stay in the Premiership.

"Our next match at home against Derby is going to be a massive game. It's a match we need to win because three points would go a long way towards pulling us clear of the other struggling clubs and then I think we'd all feel safe.

"A lot of our problems have been down to a lack of confidence and our present troubles just seem to have crept up on us.

"We've got a mix of ages amongst the squad, though, and when the younger ones look back I'm sure they'll end up benefiting from this experience."

Manager Harry Redknapp was also quick to say that the England international is going nowhere.

Redknapp said: "David O'Leary's already come and bought our best player - Rio Ferdinand - for £18m. What's he trying to do, ruin us?

"We want to keep players like Frank, not sell them.

"We've produced four great young players and if we end up selling two of them before they've reached 22 years of age that can't be right, can it?

"We've got to add a couple of new faces to them in the summer not get rid of them."

All the goals at Villa Park came in the second half with French striker Frederic Kanoute putting the Hammers in front only for David Ginola and Lee Hendrie to strike back for the home side. Lampard's fifth goal of the season then earned a point.