David Moyes sack update with West Ham United boss on brink for Fulham clash as Brendan Rodgers news emerges
Brendan Rodgers may be in line to take the West Ham job as David Moyes could be sacked if he loses to Fulham, according to The Guardian.
David Sullivan has backed the embattled Scot throughout the season but after the dismal 5-1 loss to Newcastle on Wednesday (5 April) it appears his patience has almost run out, and anything less than a draw at Craven Cottage on Saturday (8 April) could now see a change made.
A lack of options has been cited as reason for sticking with the 59-year-old, but with Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter now on the market after losing their jobs at Leicester City and Chelsea respectively the landscape has changed and there is now reportedly a “slim” chance the former could come in at the London Stadium.
Jacob Steinberg said in The Guardian on Friday: “Sources close to the board have previously insisted that David Sullivan, the largest shareholder, was determined to stick with Moyes. Those assurances disappeared after the defeat by Newcastle.
“However there is no guarantee that Moyes will go if Fulham beat West Ham, who have won only one away game in the league. It has been stressed that a lack of candidates could drag out the issue.
“It is understood there is a slim chance of Brendan Rodgers taking over after his departure from Leicester. Graham Potter wants to wait until the summer for his next job after his sacking by Chelsea.”
Option
Defeat to high-flying Newcastle was always a possibility but the abject fashion in which it arrived has seen the pressure reach new levels for Moyes.
While almost all of the relegation-threatened sides in the Premier League have managed to find an alternative option of some sort when changing their own managers this season that has apparently not been the outlook in the Irons boardroom.
But the two latest departures has put two relatively big top flight names back on the market, and while Potter’s experience at Stamford Bridge likely would require some time to recover from Rodgers’ feels like a different propostition.
His dismal Foxes form would make it seem counter-intuitive to go for a manager whose record this season is actually worse than Moyes’ but amid a lack of investment at the King Power there is a suspicion that Rodgers was as ready to leave Leicester as they were to let him go.
West Ham may only be outside the relegation zone on goal-difference but do have a game in hand on all their rivals so a result at Fulham could change the complexion of things in a big way.
It is clear that the board are at pains to avoid making a change before the end of the season, but if Moyes doesn’t take this a lot more seriously they may have no choice.