OPINION
Clinton Morrison took West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini on a rollercoaster ride of emotions on Wednesday when discussing whether the Hammers boss should be fearing for his job with Jim White and Natalie Sawyer.
White asked Morrison whether the Hammers losing to Tottenham after the international break could end Pellegrini’s reign and the pundit admitted he wasn’t sure based on his experience of David Gold and David Sullivan.
“See that’s a difficult one, I think he is under pressure, I don’t know as I’ve worked with Gold and Sullivan at Birmingham and I know one thing, they do stick with their managers and try and give them a bit of time so they will help him out,” said Morrison on talkSPORT (10:53, Wednesday, November 13th).
“So it will be well and truly what the fans are saying if the fans are going on and it’s a hostile place then eventually…., I’d probably give him until the end of the season Jim.”
The former Premier League forward pointed out that based on his time at Birmingham City, when Gold and Sullivan were in charge, the Hammers chiefs like to give managers time and will try to help Pellegrini out, so the West Ham manager was likely wiping the sweat off his brow at this point.
However, Morrison then suggested that West Ham fans may hold Pellegrini’s fate in their hands as he implied supporters making the London Stadium a hostile place could force Gold and Sullivan into action.
If the pundit is right to claim Pellegrini’s future could be determined by Hammers fans then he surely will be fearing the worst.
After all, a number of West Ham fans have already started to vent their frustration with Pellegrini over the club’s six-game winless run in the Premier League.
For example, some West Ham fans have already ripped into Pellegrini for his treatment of Angelo Ogbonna on social media, as they can’t understand why the defender has been dropped, some directly called for the manager’s head after the 3-0 loss to Burnley, and others have shown it’s time to move on by sharing who they want to replace him, with a number urging for Jose Mourinho to be appointed.
So if Hammers supporters are already getting vocal on social media then it’s only a matter of time before the atmosphere turns hostile at the London Stadium, especially if the club’s poor run continues and they lose heavily to bitter rivals Tottenham in their next outing.
Another reason why Pellegrini will sweat over Morrison’s claim about West Ham fans is that it’s believable the fans have the power.
David Moyes steadied the ship at West Ham and stopped them getting relegated from the Premier League in the 2017/18 season, yet he didn’t get given the job.
And you wonder if the horrible scenes during the loss to Burnley when Moyes was in charged where fans charged the pitch and others gathered in front of the director’s box, as per the Guardian, played a part in why the Scotsman wasn’t viewed as a person the club should stick with.
After all, a small part of the fury was down to Moyes playing a less than attractive style of football, so if Hammers fans turn against Pellegrini then it could be enough to see Gold and Sullivan pull the trigger.
