Should teams like West Ham take a closer look at Bristol City boss?

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Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has enjoyed success wherever he has gone, so should a Premier League team like West Ham consider him?

Slaven Bilic looks on prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Swansea City.

According to bookmakers Skybet, West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic is the 9/2 second favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his position.

There has been pressure on Bilic all season, with a poor run of three straight defeats having been turned around somewhat with seven points from their past four games.

West Ham United supporters react during the Premier League match against Swansea City.

That being said, there are many that believe that the Croatian won’t be in his position at the London Stadium for much longer and some big names are being linked as his replacement. Yet should the Hammers delve into the Championship if they make a change in the dugout?

Bosses rarely seem to be plucked from English football’s second tier by the top flight sides, particularly if they haven’t played at the highest level themselves, yet Bristol City’s Lee Johnson has an impressive record since becoming the then youngest manager in the country when he took charge of Oldham Athletic in March 2013, aged 31.

That season he saved the club from relegation, before a 15th place finish the following term and being poached by Barnsley the February after with Oldham in ninth. Johnson then took the Tykes from 16th to 11th in 2014/15 and they were in 12th and in the final of the Football League Trophy when the former midfielder was drafted in to save another club from the drop.

Lee Johnson, manager of Bristol City, applauds the fans after the Sky Bet Championship match against Bolton Wanderers.

This time it was in the Championship as he took over at Bristol City and eight wins from their final 16 games took them out of the relegation zone. A 17th place finish followed in 2016/17 before a superb start this time around sees the Robins fourth in the table as the joint highest scorers.

Still only 36-years-old, Johnson is fast building a reputation for himself and while West Ham fans may raise an eyebrow if he were appointed, perhaps taking a chance with an up-and-coming boss would be a risk worth taking.