HAVING become a father for the second time last week, West Ham defender George McCartney was disappointed that he couldn't then become the daddy at former club Sunderland.

The 26-year-old and partner Elaine celebrated the safe arrival of a baby girl in a Belfast hospital in the early hours of Friday morning.

But it wasn't such a happy weekend for the Northern Ireland international on the pitch as relegation battlers Sunderland snatched a stoppage time winner at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

McCartney - who made over 150 appearances for the Black Cats in nine seasons and was given a warm welcome by the home support - said: "It was nice to get a good reception but I was just so disppointed to lose it so late in the match.

"I really wanted to go back there and come away with a positive result but Sunderland are fighting for everything and it is difficult playing teams in that situation."

However, the full back was delighted to have a little sister for his two-year-old son - even if it did effect his build up to the game.

He added: "Because it was such a long labour the preparations weren't the best but family comes first.

"Making sure everything was OK with them was my priority.

"And it was great to add a new addition to the family - I'm over the moon to have one of each."

McCartney (pictured) was forced out of the game at half time with a hamstring injury and is now in a race to be fit in time to face Portsmouth at Upton Park on Tuesday.

It is a game that he desperately wants to play in order to maintain his record of featuring in every league and cup fixture for the east Londoners this season.

"To miss out now would be very disappointing," he said. "I want to play in every game.

"I've been carrying the injury for the last four or five weeks but things just came to a head on Saturday.

"It (hamstring) is not that bad once it is warmed up and that but at Sunderland it was a bit worse than what it has been.

"But fingers crossed, with a few days with the physio, I should hopefully be back in training by the weekend and fit enough to play Portsmouth."

The Hammers are comfortably situated in tenth place in the Premier League table - a position they have occupied for the past 19 games - and the team's performances in recent weeks would suggest that the club has already settled for that.

However, McCartney denied that the players had already put their feet up for the season and insisted that there's plenty still to play for.

"The players are going out every game trying to win it, there's no other way to approach it," he said.

"The manager is certainly not going to let us get complacent or cruise the last few matches.

"There's probably not a lot we're playing for in terms of Europe but we can catch the teams above us which would be a massive bonus going into next season.

"If we can get a similar finish to what we had last season, then there is no reason why we can't finish higher."