West Ham boss David Moyes should be gravely concerned by claims emerging from Premier League rivals Southampton after a dismal weekend.
West Ham put in an abject performance to lose 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace while Southampton were hammered on their own patch 4-1 by Newcastle on Sunday.
The heavens opened across the country but the dark clouds are not going away for Hammers boss Moyes and his Saints counterpart Ralph Hasenhuttl.
The results leave Southampton in the relegation zone and West Ham not far off it heading towards the World Cup break.
In truth the Saints were expected to be fighting a relegation battle again this season. But for Moyes’ Hammers this is not in the script at all after two seasons challenging the top six and shining in Europe.
Now West Ham boss Moyes should be gravely concerned by claims emerging from Southampton after dismal weekend.
Because as West Ham fans start to turn on Moyes and his negative approach, reports abound that Southampton are about to sack Hasenhuttl.
Given the fact Moyes has spent £155m less than his counterpart and West Ham sit just two points ahead of Saints in the table, it will surely pile pressure on the Scot and West Ham’s owners to act or publicly back their man.
Southampton made £62m from player sales in the summer and spent exactly that amount on new arrivals (transfermarkt).
That zero net spend pales into insignificance compared to West Ham’s £155m net splurge on eight signings.
The likes of The Daily Mail, BBC Sport and talkSPORT claim Hasenhuttl will be sacked today.
If and when that happens focus will immediately turn to Moyes as the new man with his head on the block in the eyes of the media.
Moyes will be under intense pressure to get positive results against promotion chasing Blackburn and resurgent Leicester this week.
Should he fail then West Ham’s owners may be forced to publicly back or sack their man to avoid six weeks of unhelpful speculation during the break or give themselves time to appoint a replacement.
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