SAINTS have insisted they were entirely professional in their preparations for Monday's 1-0 win against West Ham - despite requiring a police escort to arrive at Upton Park in time for kick-off.

The team-bus was caught in rush-hour traffic and the players eventually only made it less than half-an-hour before the 8pm start.

Manager Gordon Strachan said the players had trained at rock star Rod Stewart's house just before noon and not during the afternoon.

The players then prepared as normal with lunch, an afternoon sleep and a pre-match meal before departing at 6pm for a journey they expected to take 25 minutes.

According to the AA route planner, it is a 20-mile trip, which includes negotiating two motorway stretches before hitting East London.

Strachan said: "There has been a lot rubbish written and spoken about it which makes it look as though we were unprofessional. We did exactly what was recommended to us.

"We came up the day before the game and stayed at the Marriot Hotel at Waltham Abbey which was recommended by West Ham.

"It was just a few minutes from Rod Stewart's house, which has its own football pitch.

"I have trained there before with Leeds and Coventry and it is ideal because it is the nearest facility to the hotel and is entirely private.

"The bus took the kit to the ground in the morning and the journey took 25 minutes through reasonably heavy traffic so it should have been plenty of time.

"The traffic was horrendous and if the police had not come to get us then we would not have made it at all. But it had nothing to do with training at Rod Stewart's house!

"We did everything we could to make sure the players were okay. We moved them to the front of the bus where it was cooler and the staff sat at the back and we put a Billy Connolly video to give everyone a laugh and make sure they did not get stressed because we just were not moving."

Saints avoided a fine by getting chairman Rupert Lowe to hand in their team sheet.

Lowe said he accepted the team's delay was purely down to bad luck.

"It was not at all unprofessional. You can't do much about being in a traffic jam. We are grateful to the police for their help and we are now focussing on the next game on Saturday," he said.

l West Ham have suffered another blow with the revelation that star striker Paolo di Canio could face an extended absence from the team.

The Italian was forced to come off in Monday's 1-0 home defeat to Southampton with a knee problem but it is unclear just how many games he will miss.

The Hammers' official website claims di Canio faces "an extended lay-off" with newspaper reports suggesting he could be out for anything between six weeks and three months.

Di Canio said: "The doctor had said to me at half-time during the match against Southampton that it would be better if I opted out.

"But I said I wanted to play on and give what I can to the team. The problem was I couldn't run, or challenge for the ball."