OPINION
There is no hiding from the fact that West Ham United have endured a nightmare month in the Premier League.
Flashback to September and the Hammers had just climbed to third in the table after securing all three points in a 2-0 victory against Manchester United – not many fans would have predicted what was to come next.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have not won since, and Saturday’s 3-2 defeat against Newcastle United was the icing on the cake in terms of terrible performances.
The Hammers now sit in the bottom half of the Premier League, and desperately need something to change in order to achieve the likely goal of European qualification.
The majority of the blame has to fall on the shoulders of Pellegrini, who has not been adaptable enough in his tactics which has seen his side become too predictable.
It was recently reported by Claret and Hugh that the club would need to pay almost £20million to cut ties with Pellegrini and his staff this season.
Football Insider have reported that the West Ham hierarchy do not class Pellegrini as under threat at the current moment, despite his side not having won a game in more than five weeks of action in all competitions.
The reputable football outlet claim that the board will, however, hold back on any fresh contract talks with the South American until near the end of his current £200,000-a-week deal at the club.
West Ham could certainly live to regret giving Pellegrini more time, with his stubbornness to change any of his tactics really threatening to affect his side’s position in the Premier League table.
The first sign of a downfall in East London was the Everton game where the Hammers were outplayed by a side who could have been in the relegation zone.
Pellegrini then made changes for the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United but kept the same team for the Newcastle defeat despite them being less than convincing.
Going forward is a real issue for the Hammers right now, with Sebastien Haller way too isolated in the final third despite having a number of attacking options available to Pellegrini, who still hasn’t perfected his system.
With West Ham set to be patient with Pellegrini, they could start to regret their reported stance on his future, and they can not afford to just sit back and watch their team slowly fade away this season.