David Moyes will need to win the Europa League to get “anywhere near” extending his contract with West Ham, according to Graeme Bailey.
The Irons boss’ proposed new contract was “never close” before it was shelved after Arsenal thrashed 6-0 at home on 11 February, a HITC reporter told Hammers News on 28 February. It will be clear what the future holds for the club if and when the European campaign is over.
Chairman David Sullivan is reportedly not “happy” behind the scenes at the London Stadium because of the massive problems outside the club, bringing in technical director Tim Steidten, with whom Moyes does not want to work.
Bailey says the German was appointed because the club wants to “move forward” but the manager is “old-fashioned” and not happy with the dynamic, so he is confident that at least one of Steidten and Moyes will be gone by next term, even if there is no mid-season change on the bench.
Bailey said: ‘There is a big split in the camp. We are talking about a manager who was on the brink last season and if he hadn’t won the European Cup he would have left anyway.
“The fact is that if you win the European Cup and you still don’t get a new contract, that’s not a good sign. I don’t think at any point this season it was close…
“But with Moyes, there are so many factors off the pitch that go against him that I just don’t see how they can do it …
“We’re not going to beat around the bush, there are off-field problems – and there are off-field problems – David Sullivan has brought in technical director Tim Steidten to make his life easier. But it has not made his life easier. It is not Tim Steidten’s fault, but David Moyes clearly does not want to work with someone – not Tim – but he is simply an old-fashioned manager and he does not want to work with a sporting/technical director, especially not one who is not from his group, from his team.
“It doesn’t take a genius to realise that things are going to get complicated in the summer. Steidten and Moyes will both no longer be at West Ham next season, I think that’s fair to say.”
David Moyes needs West Ham to win Europa League to keep his job, but David Sullivan is not happy:
That Moyes and Steidten apparently do not get on behind the scenes has been regularly hinted at since the latter arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
Sullivan knows the Scot better than most, so surely he should be aware that the deal might not work out well if it clashes with the 60-year-old’s outlook on work or his increasingly outdated tactics.
So it seems that Steidten is set to begin a new era at the London Stadium and may even be tasked with finding a new manager before this season, only for Sullivan to step aside and end the previous era when Moyes lifted the European Conference trophy.
This apparently overlapped the old and new jobs, and although they have managed to co-exist so far to the extent that the belated summer transfer deadline was pretty good, even now after a torrid run of form in the New Year the Premier League table doesn’t look too bad.
The 4-2 win over Brentford on Monday (26 February) was a reminder of what this side can do even with a frustrating backroom situation, but it seems unsustainable in the long term and Steidten looks like he may be leaving his options open if Sullivan won’t back him.