Former England international Danny Murphy has claimed that West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini is under huge pressure at the club.
Saturday’s limp 3-2 defeat to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur saw the Hammers dismal run of form stretch to eight games without a win, and they are now just three points above the relegation zone.
Murphy hasn’t been impressed by the Chilean: “For West Ham and Manuel Pellegrini however, it doesn’t look good” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“Despite the late rally, I fear their poor form has been going on too long to save the manager.”
OPINION
You have to wonder whether the Irons board will be taking a look at Pellegrini now, because this woeful stretch simply isn’t acceptable. This is a big club playing in a magnificent stadium and with some terrific players. Plenty of them aren’t playing like that at the moment, of course, but who is to blame for that? This isn’t a relegation-battle squad, yet that is what they are in at this moment in time. Someone has to take responsibility for that. The fear amongst the West Ham supporters, though, is that David Gold and David Sullivan will simply refuse to get rid of Pellegrini unless they are right on the edge of relegation deep into the season. That’s because the Chilean is so well-paid that it would cost them bucketloads to get rid of him. They’ve backed themselves into a corner, and it’s having a hugely negative affect on the team and on the fans. 3-2 was not indicative of the game on Saturday, and it flattered West Ham massively.