David Moyes is NOT up for sacking and will take charge of West Ham against Fulham on Saturday as he trains in the hours following Newcastle’s 5-1 home humiliation… but another defeat could send panic to the owners
David Moyes has survived the sack in the wake of West Ham’s 5-1 humiliation at the hands of Newcastle as the under-siege manager took training in preparation for a Saturday showdown with Fulham.
Co-owner David Sullivan is backing Moyes on a short-term basis, although he is under pressure to deliver immediate results, starting at Craven Cottage.
The sack looms over Moyes, who will once again be faced with questions about his future during his press conference at 10am on Friday, ahead of a match described as a ‘cannot lose’ game.
It’s a testament to Moyes’ relationship with Sullivan that he survived for so long as other clubs changed managers.
Part of the problem is that West Ham are struggling to find a replacement they see as an upgrade to the 59-year-old Scot. They previously targeted Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, but soon discovered that was too ambitious.
David Moyes is under increasing pressure after West Ham were thrashed 5-1 by Newcastle
West Ham have been plucked apart by the high-flying Magpies and are in a relegation battle
Frank Lampard was another candidate given his past at West Ham and his willingness to deploy the youth, but he will now take over as interim Chelsea head coach until the end of the season. Nuno Espirito Santo, Marcelo Bielsa and Paulo Fonseca are others who are admired, while Rafa Benitez is known to be interested in every possible vacancy.
Ideally, West Ham would rather wait until the summer to make a management change, giving Moyes time to take them to safety in the Premier League and potentially win the Europa Conference League. They could then assess their options, which would include Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter, who are both out of work having left Leicester and Chelsea respectively.
However, panic is beginning to set in at West Ham, and there is now a desire to bring in a firefighter to lead this race against relegation.
Wednesday night’s 5-1 defeat to Newcastle was humiliating for West Ham. Although they started the game well, they soon imploded when a series of defensive calamities cost them at the London Stadium.
They conceded the first goal after Thilo Kehrer gave away an unnecessary corner and Callum Wilson was left unmarked in the penalty area to go home. The second goal saw Joelinton break behind West Ham’s static back-line to score while being played offside by left-back Emerson.
The third and fourth goals were the result of big mistakes. Nayef Aguerd lost the ball in his own penalty area before Wilson scored, then Lukasz Fabianski left Alexander Isak with an open goal after failing to remove the danger.
The London Stadium was mostly empty when Newcastle scored their fifth goal through Joelinton off a long ball from Bruno Guimaraes.
Afterwards, Moyes said he was a “big guy” and admitted he is about to be fired: “I’ve quit my job at other times in the past and if that happens I’m going to have to agree to that. But I really like my work here.’
There have been 12 Premier League dismissals this season – a new record – and Moyes added: “I have no doubt they are me. I’m confident in the way they work and what they think, but when you’re a manager and you lose big like I did, you’re always in danger and I understand that.’