A lot is said about the fickleness of football chairmen and their treatment of managers, at almost all levels of the game.
But everyone, supporters and hierarchies alike, hope for managers to show loyalty and commitment to the club if they are producing the results on the pitch.
Despite opinions around Sam Allardyce continuing to be mixed, he is winning over the majority by adding stability and ability back into the team.
So to hear this week that Big Sam may still harbour ambitions to manage England prompts discussions around whether he would yet be missed by fans.
The 59-year-old came close to the top role in 2006, when he was interviewed by the FA, but eventually lost out to Steve McClaren.
In the recent interview, he stopped short of saying he would jump at the chance of taking the job, and made it clear it would all depend on his circumstances at the time.
On the surface, his CV is strong, without being exceptional. He has never won a top flight title, or one of the showpiece domestic cup competitions. He has achieved solid success in the top two divisions, without ever establishing himself as a stand-out candidate.
The admission he would have to be “at a top job in the Premier League doing very well” before being considered again for the post is honest and realistic.
With it unlikely any of the established top five would consider him to manage them, you would therefore imagine he would have to be doing well at West Ham to ensure his name was in the hat.
A scenario whereby he has established the club as a regular European contender, alongside some cup success, would be one that all fans would be delighted with, and about the only one that would make the FA sit up and take notice.
And if that were the state he left the club in to pursue his England dream, he would have certainly engineered a significant turnaround since taking over, and few would begrudge him the honour of moving on to manage at the top international level.
