Portsmouth midfielder Hayden Mullins believes avoiding relegation from the Barclays Premier League would be a bigger achievement for his side than West Ham's great escape in 2007.
The Reading-born man returns to his old club on Boxing Day, hoping to help Pompey claim the three points they need to drop Hammers to the bottom of the table.
Mullins knows all about relegation scraps, having helped the East Londoners claim a shock 1-0 triumph at Manchester United on the final day of the 2006/07 season, which secured their spot in the top flight.
He swapped Upton Park for Fratton Park at the end of January, but the 30-year-old has been plunged back into trouble.
His current club has been bottom of the Premier League since August and despite taking seven points from their last four matches, Pompey remain three points adrift of safety.
Given that they have struggled with everything from paying players to transfer embargoes, Mullins believes the south coast team are in a much worse position than West Ham were two and a half years ago.
He said: "It has been a crazy year. We've had all the money problems off the pitch, a lot of people leaving and we started with 14 players.
"It's something I haven't seen in my career to date. If we come through it, it will be a massive achievement.
"I thought I'd left all those problems behind when I left West Ham but this has been a bigger scare with the players not getting paid on time. To start with 13 or 14 players is unbelievable for a Premiership side.
"That's why everyone feels bad for the manager (Paul Hart) who has just left. It's been a turbulent time and hopefully things can settle down a bit more from now."
