West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic is a man under pressure and could the writing now be on the wall?
The Hammers have endured a nightmare start to the new season.
Defeats in each of their opening three games have left West Ham bottle of the table with a minus eight goal difference.
As a result Bilic’s position is under severe pressure with reports owners David Sullivan and David Gold are set to replace the Croatian.
However, a meeting between the owners and manager after the 3-0 humbling at Newcastle United saw fresh reports emerge claiming the former Besiktas boss would be given more time.
That was met with large scale disapproval from increasingly disillusioned West Ham fans who feel it is time to change after the worrying hangover from a poor season last term.
After signing Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic things had been looking up for West Ham this summer.
But only Hernandez has impressed on the pitch so far.
The club was linked with a club record move for Portugal star William Carvalho over the last three weeks and more recently Barcelona’s Andre Gomes.
At 11pm last night, though, the transfer window slammed shut and West Ham failed to do any business despite being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with a shambolic defensive unit.
Given what is at stake with survival in the increasingly competitive Premier League – particularly for the Hammers after their big move to the London Stadium – fans are in shock.
So is it the clearest sign yet that the board have lost all faith in the manager and are refusing to commit any more money to players he has identified.
And if that is the case is it inevitable that Bilic will be replaced if the Hammers do not beat Huddersfield when the Premier League resumes after the international break?
It will cut no ice with supporters either way given the club’s net spend is just £10m this summer.
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