Slaven Bilic once again finds himself on the brink of the sack following a shocking home defeat to Brighton last weekend and the manager has been handed another stay of execution.
Reports suggest Bilic has been given two games to save his job and ahead of Saturday’s must-win game against bottom-placed Crystal Palace is another bitter derby game with Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, and check out these football betting sites ahead of tonight’s game.
West Ham have already lost to Spurs this season but their spirited second-half comeback was met with praise from some corners of the fanbase.
Last season, the Hammers found themselves in a unfavourable position, struggling to string a series of positive results together and flirting with the very real possibility of relegation back to the Championship.
Again seemingly one or two bad results away from the sack, Bilic welcomed a title-challenging Tottenham side to the London Stadium back in May and his side put in an incredibly spirited performance.
Manuel Lanzini’s goal capped off a gritty, determined and passionate performance that night as the Hammers stole a 1-0 win over Spurs which was enough to convince the hierarchy to keep him in a job for next season.
Facing another do-or-die situation, Bilic will be hoping lightning strikes twice and that his side can earn a result against Tottenham which can help turn things around for him.
Many fans believe that the Tottenham result last season only papers over the cracks in the Bilic regime and the issues that were so prominent last season have come back to a head this month.
This West Ham side looks frail, weak and lethargic and it won’t come as a surprise to learn that the Hammers boast one of the oldest squads in the Premier League.
Injuries are no longer a viable excuse, if they were one, as Bilic now has a near-full complement of players to choose from every week including his marquee summer signings Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic who are both struggling to make genuine impacts.
While Hernandez has netted three times this season, they’ve all come in defeats as the Mexican continues to be played out of position of without sufficient support in the final third, and in the case of Arnautovic, he just doesn’t look worth the £25m spent on him.
Bilic has continued to back his summer signings and maintains they are fighting for him but the performances suggest otherwise. There’s no urgency, no hunger and no end product.
Whether he remains in a job come the end of the week is heavily reliant on the performance tonight against Tottenham and Bilic, known for being able to inspire his team to perform above themselves in big games, will be hoping that he can channel that passionate energy he displayed in the win over Spurs last May into his team talk tonight, his job depends on it.
