As we enter the final international break of the domestic season before this Summer’s World Cup, it is fair to say that West Ham find themselves in a very precarious position as their battle to stave off relegation continues.
At the turn of the year it looked as if the appointment of David Moyes as manager was to be a very shrewd one, especially as the Hammers had managed to get a sizeable amount of daylight between themselves and the bottom three.
However, three straight Premier League defeats has meant that West Ham sit just two points and more importantly just one place above the drop zone. They currently occupy 17th position in the table, a standing that would be just good enough to beat the drop come the end of the campaign.
But with 8 games left to play there will be many twists and turns before we reach the finish line and the first of these twists could well come when the English top flight resumes at the end of March. The reason being is that they have arguably their biggest game of the season on the horizon.
West Ham play host to Southampton at the London Stadium, it what can only be described as ‘relegation six-pointer’, should the visitors claim all three points then they will move out of the drop zone at the Hammers expense.
A few weeks ago, you could argue that the East London outfit would be favourites to win a game of this magnitude on their own turf, but there are two sizeable factors that have come into play recently that would make you think otherwise.
Firstly, Southampton have rolled the dice and decided that they needed a change of managerial personnel. Mauricio Pellegrino’s negative tactics had seen the Saints slide down the table and the powers that be decided that enough was enough and a change was needed.
That change has come in the shape of former Stoke boss Mark Hughes, the Welsh international has been given the job until the end of the season with the remit simply being to make sure that the club do not relegated.
That means that there should be something of a new manager bounce for the club, which is good news for them but bad news for West Ham. Not only that though it is the fact that their home ground has become a help rather than a hindrance.
Their defeat to Burnley showed just how difficult playing at home has become, a game that was played among a backdrop of fan protests was never going to be easy and it certainly showed as they were dealt a 3-0 defeat by Sean Dyche’s.
The fans ire only increased as Burnley secured all three points and if West Ham are to beat the drop this season then they are going to need their fans to get behind them between now and the end of the campaign.
It’s not quite winner takes all when West Ham play host to Southampton but the repercussions of defeat for either side will be hugely felt. Should the Saints march on victory then serious questions will be asked about whether David Moyes and his players can keep their top flight status.