West Ham ready to improve stewarding but demand increased policing – at taxpayers' expense

West Ham United will demand a heavy police presence at their final five Premier League home games of the season.

West Ham have already sold 57,000 tickets for the home fixture against Southampton on March 31, which was postponed for earlier in the season, but may face calls for matches after that to be played in front of a reduced capacity.

A series of meetings will take place, starting this morning, between West Ham – led by their vice-chairman Karren Brady – and the various stakeholders who are involved with the London Stadium following the pitch invasions and violence that marred Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Burnley.

West Ham do not have control of the stewarding inside the stadium – that is in the hands of London Stadium 185 – but will offer to take over that. They are prepared to pay to improve the standard of stewarding with their main complaint being that the current personnel are not good enough to deal with the demands of supervising Premier League matches.

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If agreed West Ham would expect the stewarding budget to be transferred to them and would then add to that with their own funds. However they also believe that a far more visible policing presence inside the stadium would also calm down supporters and will ask why that has not happened before now.

Under the terms of West Ham's rental deal, the costs of policing and stewarding are covered by London Stadium 185 and paid for by the taxpayer.

During the protest, a coin struck co-chairman David Sullivan on his glasses, while David Gold, his fellow co-owner, broke down in tears after he had left his seat.

Despite the abuse, they will continue to attend home matches. According to the rental agreement, which allows West Ham to use the stadium for £2.5 million per year, any strengthening of police and stewarding presence would be paid for by the public purse.

Sullivan said on Saturday night that he felt "very badly let down" by the stadium operators, and there is particular concern over the ease with which fans were allowed to run on to the pitch, where one was thrown to the floor by Mark Noble, the West Ham captain.

Meanwhile, Noble said he could not see a way in which the anger from the fans towards the club's owners, much of which centres around the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium, would dissipate. "This is our stadium now," Noble said. "There is nothing we can do about it. It seems to me that there is so much anger out there that it is not going to go away.

"It has been bubbling over for a long time and the only way that it has ever really gone quiet is if we won games. And West Ham is a side that is not going to win every game. We are going to lose games. But when we lose games, it is pretty much the end of the world."

Noble feared there would be a mass pitch invasion, and said he was thankful that his wife and children had not attended the game. Asked how the side could now prepare for the next home game, against Southampton, Noble said: "I don't know. If we go 1-0 down at home again, what will happen? I can't imagine. They showed everyone how they feel. Hopefully they will now rally together and get behind us."

Defender James Collins, who was also involved in scuffles with pitch invaders, said the team were affected by the confrontation with Noble and the events in the stands as they fell to their third consecutive defeat.

"Seeing my friend, captain and a boy who loves this club as much as me, and who has been here since he was a kid, having to do that with a fan on the pitch is going to affect anyone," Collins said.

"We were probably a bit scared, a bit nervous if you like."

Sir Trevor Brooking, the former West Ham player who was watching from the directors' box, said the "aggressive" atmosphere could result in relegation.

"That atmosphere must never come back in the last five games otherwise the players won't be able to deliver," he said.