beIN SPORTS presenter Richard Keys has talked up former Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton as a potential replacement for manager Manuel Pellegrini.
The Chilean is under serious pressure in east London after eight games without a win, and the Daily Mirror claim Hughton is one of the names being considered as a possible replacement.
Keys has had his say: “I’m reading Chris Hughton is West Ham’s man. I hope so,” he wrote on his website. “Chris is a great guy, but in order to have any success ambitions at that club have to be more realistic. Historically West Ham have been a top end second tier team or one that can compete half way up the top league.
“Occasionally they’d win a cup. That’s what West Ham are today. It’s nonsense to pretend differently, although Ms Brady believes otherwise. It’s a pity all the advice she offers to others in her national newspaper column can’t be harnessed for the good of West Ham.”
OPINION
So Keys wants West Ham to be less ambitious? Is that right? Yes, they have historically been a bit of a yo-yo team, but they have stabilised themselves as a top flight side over the past decade. Plus, you can’t move to a 60,000-odd seater stadium and pitch it as the move that’s going to see you become a ‘big club’, only to scale things back and return to being happy about mid-table finishes. That’s not how it works. Tottenham Hotspur didn’t move to their new ground to continue to do what they’ve been doing, while Arsenal’s switch to the Emirates was supposed to see them become the best team in England. West Ham aren’t looking to tread water every year or get involved in relegation battles. Plus, Keys kind of disrespects Hughton by claiming the club should appoint him in order to be more realistic about being a mid-table team. As for his swipe at Karren Brady, he might have a point there. Her column is becoming a laughable conflict of interest, and she’d do well to scrap it.
