Marlon Harewood urges West Ham United to stick with David Moyes amid growing relegation pressure
Former West Ham United player Marlon Harewood has urged the club to stick with manager David Moyes and believes he is the right man to navigate them away from Premier League relegation this season.
The Hammers are well and truly embroiled in a fight to avoid the dreaded drop this season, with the club currently occupying 17th position and only above the bottom three on goal difference.
West Ham have fallen flat on their backs this term despite splashing out in a summer spending spree totalling £160million; however, Moyes’ job has been reported to be “safe as houses”. [Paul Brown, 25 February]
When speaking to Sky Sports, former Hammers player Harewood urged West Ham to keep faith in the Scottish manager to lead the club to Premier League safety.
He said: “Other teams have realised what West Ham are about and they’ve done their due diligence about the way they play, but I can see them pulling out [of the relegation zone] and the gaffer pulling out the stops to get where they need to be.”
When asked whether Moyes was the right man for the job, he replied: “Yes I do. I think he’s the man for the job to pull them out.
“There are 11 games left, so hopefully, they can make a decision at the end of the season and let him get on with the job. Hopefully, he can pull them out of it, which I know he can.”
Time will tell
Moyes is under a mountain of pressure going into the upcoming international break, with several relegation rivals picking up massive wins at the weekend and getting to play another game before West Ham due to the club’s postponed fixture against Manchester City.
Bournemouth picked up the unlikely scalp of Liverpool, Everton ended Brentford’s 12-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, while Southampton picked up a point at Old Trafford on Sunday (12 March), all leaving the Hammers under yet more relegation pressure.
The problem is every time supporters think the team have finally clicked and got some sort of attacking fluidity, they crumble to a defeat in the very next game.
The 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest was a prime example of this. A clean sheet, four goals and a brace for January recruit Danny Ings seemed like the kickstart the Hammers needed, but they followed that up with a 4-0 drubbing to Brighton.
It has been a case of one step forwards and two steps back for the majority of the season, and this must change.