West Ham United are unlikely to sack current manager David Moyes until “things get abysmal” at the London Stadium, as journalist Dean Jones considers some potential names touted as replacements (listed in the content below).
The Irons enjoyed a positive start to the 2023/24 Premier League season but now find themselves slipping further down the table after enduring a wretched run of form to begin 2024.
West Ham also have Europa League football to contend with in March, with a last-16 tie awaiting them on their return to the continent’s second-tier competition. Moyes will look back on his time with the Hammers as a job well done but could find himself out of the door soon, with his contract at the London Stadium expiring at the end of this term.
Moyes and Steidten’s frosty relationship:
It’s been an interesting season for Moyes on the back of West Ham’s Europa Conference League triumph in June 2023. After one of the best nights in the club’s history, relationships at the London Stadium have seemingly unravelled, with the 60-year-old out of contract at the end of the 2023/24 season.
West Ham’s appointment of Tim Steidten as technical director has brought clashes between him and the manager, with the duo disagreeing on transfers during the 2023 summer market. The Irons had a significant job in the wake of Declan Rice’s sale to Arsenal and had still not made a first-team signing by the start of August 2023.
Eventually, Moyes and Steidten would put their differences aside and made the acquisitions of midfield duo Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse before adding the attack-minded Mohammed Kudus to the squad. The season had started excellently for Moyes, and by the end of 2023, West Ham sat sixth in the Premier League, having already secured their spot in the last-16 of the Europa League.
Following a 2-0 success at Arsenal, The Guardian reported that Moyes was set to be offered a new contract to stay at the London Stadium until the summer of 2026.
However, since the new year, a downturn in form has seen West Ham crash out of the FA Cup and remain winless since that trip to the Emirates Stadium, losing 6-0 in the reverse fixture with the Gunners earlier in February.
Unsurprisingly, The Daily Mail reports that the Irons have ‘stalled’ contract talks with Moyes, which Jones believes has ‘paid off’ when speaking to GIVEMESPORT.
Dean Jones – Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter could be options for West Ham
While Jones doesn’t believe West Ham chairman David Sullivan will sack Moyes unless things turn sour, the journalist hints that Steidten could consider potential replacements, including Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter. However, the journalist believes Jose Mourinho’s appointment is “pushing it a bit too far”. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:
“I think that Steidten is looking at potential managers right now. It’s difficult because I don’t think they will sack Moyes until things get abysmal, or at least until they’re out of Europe. But there are other names for them to consider, and I think it will be an experienced name that tempts them. Lopetegui or Potter could potentially be options. Mourinho is probably pushing it a bit too far. But when it comes to people like Will Still, Michael Carrick or Rob Edwards, I don’t think they’re quite at the level yet that West Ham will be looking for when it comes to replacing Moyes.”
David Moyes managerial alternatives at West Ham:
Whether Moyes remains at West Ham until the end of the 2023/24 season or is pushed out of the door before the campaign concludes, it seems unlikely he’ll be at the London Stadium beyond this summer.
The former Manchester United manager has turned the Hammers into regular European qualifiers and has secured a continental trophy in almost five years with the club since his re-appointment in 2019.
Jones has recently suggested to GIVEMESPORT (14th February) that Graham Potter and Gary O’Neil could be the ideal profiles to take over at the London Stadium. Potter has been out of work since receiving his marching orders at Chelsea in April 2023 and is looking to rebuild his reputation in England as a talented head coach.
Meanwhile, despite operating on a shoestring budget, O’Neil is enjoying a successful season with Wolverhampton Wanderers, establishing himself as one of the country’s most promising young managers.