Interview: West Ham legend Phil Parkes

He said: "I think he will look to move on. I don't want to see him go but it might be best for his career. He's got nobody challenging him at West Ham and unless he can push himself it can be difficult.

"He's a laid back character, which is important because goalkeeper is a stressful position to play, but he needs someone to challenge him.

"I've been watching Rob all season and he's only now coming back into the form he's capable of.

"He seemed to lose confidence after he got sent off the following week playing for England, which really messed with his head.

"I don't rate any of the keepers at the top four clubs, so if Rob does become available then I think someone would snap him up because on form he is very good.

"Having a good goalkeeper is of paramount importance for a successful team, as Peter Schmeichel showed when he was at Manchester United. You need that steadying influence."

Parkes has seen plenty of Green this season, as he is a regular matchday ambassador in the hospitality suites at Upton Park.

He will be at the ground for tomorrow's relegation clash with Bolton, and he thinks the Irons have enough quality to retain their Premier League status.

He said: "They will stay up. They've got to beat the teams around them, but they are a better footballing side than most, and they have more strength in depth with players like Carlton Cole and Guillermo Franco back.

"Bolton is a huge game. They are a bit of a bogey team, quite physical and it will be tough. I hope Bolton get relegated. I don't like what their manager Owen Coyle did in leaving Burnley the way he did. Managers talk about loyalty from players but they should lead by example.

"If West Ham play like they did against Hull then they will beat Bolton. I was a bit disappointed they didn't score a few more goals in that game. They started to coast a bit, passing it around without really going for it.

"They were playing a bit of keep ball. You can do that but if you try it against a good side you'll get caught out.

"I'd have liked to have seen them really go for it, as it would have been good for their goal difference to have had a really big win."

But Parkes is a big fan of Hammers' boss Gianfranco Zola.

He said: "He's got the team playing good football and the players all respect him, which is a huge thing. He reminds me of my old manager John Lyall in that he doesn't rant and rave, he doesn't bully, he just gets on with it.

"Mind you, he's got a long way to go to match what John achieved. He's on a big learning curve, but he's doing well and I hope he stays for a long time to come."

And Parkes, 59, believes the West Ham players will be happy the future of the club seems more assured following the takeover by David Sullivan and David Gold in January.

He said: "The off-field stuff does affect you as a player. The only time it didn't was on a Saturday afternoon, or any other time when you are actually playing a game because then you are just concentrating on your performance.

"But the players do talk about things like that during the week and it can be unsettling because you don't know who might be sold, so it does have an effect."

Parkes joined the Hammers in 1979 for a then world record fee for a goalkeeper of £565,000. He had already enjoyed a long spell across London at Queen's Park Rangers -helping them to runner's up spot in Division One in 1976 - and the size of the fee didn't bother him.

He said: "I didn't feel it was a burden at all. The fee wasn't down to me, it was between the clubs. Besides, you only put pressure on yourself if you think about things like that.

"Anyway, about a week later Trevor Francis joined Nottingham Forest and became the first million pound player, so everyone quickly forgot about me.

"It was a lot of money but it is peanuts compared to what they pay for players now."

That investment proved to be one of the shrewdest bits of business former West Ham boss Lyall ever did at Upton Park.

Parkes went on to play 444 games for the Irons, helping them to promotion from the old second division in 1981 and to the League Cup final the same year

He was also a key player in helping the club achieve its highest ever league placing - third in the old First Division in 1986 - before he left for Ipswich in 1990.

One game that really stands out for him is the 1980 FA Cup final win over Arsenal.

He said: "That was always a dream of mine as a kid, to win the FA Cup, and it was nice that it came only a year after I joined the club. It was a great day, especially for the fans.

"But I've got a lot of great memories of my playing career, including the spell at QPR."

Parkes only won one England cap, against Portugal in 1974, but was unfortunate to be playing in an era when England was blessed with some outstanding goalkeepers, notably Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence.

He would be an automatic pick for the national squad now, but he insists he has no regrets about his career.

He said: "I'm happy to have played when I did. The only thing I would want from the modern era is the pitches they play on now. You get a true bounce on them, whereas we used to play on mudheaps and sandpits, which made things a bit unpredictable.

"But I don't think the game is faster now, despite what people claim. Alan Devonshire was as fast as any player now, he was really quick, and there were plenty like him.

"It's also a lot less physical now. I'd love to see how some of the modern players would cope if they came up against the likes of Tommy Smith, Norman Hunter or Billy Bonds.

"Billy was a very hard player. If he tackled you, you'd know all about it, but he was also very fair."

Even 20 years after his playing career ended Parkes is held in great affection at the Boleyn. He was voted into the fan's all-time team and he was honoured by that.

He said: "It was really nice to be voted into that team. I always had a great rapport with the fans.

"The West Ham fans are without doubt the best in the country - they are loyal and long-suffering. Even when they've struggled in recent years they've been getting gates of 34,000, when other clubs have barely got 17-18,000. That shows they are true fans."

Phil Parkes is a matchday ambassador at West Ham. For details of hospitality packages visit whufc.com.