Steve Cooper update emerges amid David Moyes situation at West Ham United after Arsenal loss
Steve Cooper will be in the running if West Ham decide to get rid of David Moyes as manager, according to 90min.
The outlet reported on their website on 14 February that the former Nottingham Forest boss, who is available since being sacked in December, is set to be part of the shortlist to replace the Scot if he leaves the London Stadium.
Moyes is under pressure after a rough run of 2024 form culminated in a 6-0 home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday (11 February).
As a result, the two and a half year contract extension which according to 90min he had come to believe was a “formality” has been shelved, although he reportedly could still end up receiving it.
Cooper in frame for West Ham job after Nottingham Forest sack
If the Irons board do end up given Moyes the extension they had plans for after talks with David Sullivan then the current furore will have achieved very little.
They should never have let him get this close to the end of his current deal, which expires at the end of the season, and he fact that he’s just a few months from the end of his contract certainly suggests they weren’t convinced in the summer, with the Europa Conference League win potentially the only thing that kept him there.
An actual sacking is apparently not on the agenda, and he does have some forceful support, but if the current form doesn’t improve that could presumably change
Cooper did a fantastic job in the Championship and built up a strong bond with the Forest fanbase despite suggestions that Evangelos Marinakis was planning to get rid of him more than once.
But whether a coach who was ultimately sacked off the back of a run of one Premier League win in 13 and the club in 17th would make sense is another matter.
Part of the case against Moyes is that he’s seen as being a barrier from reaching the next level, albeit he is the reason that it is even in question, so Cooper might not get fans on board.
If a shortlist is at least being drawn up it should at least allow the board to finally make an actual decision, rather than leaving Moyes in place by default as they appeared to be doing for much of last season.
In other West Ham news, a new update has come out of the London Stadium on another key man potentially leaving the club.
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