Before West Ham United play against Chelsea on Saturday, Paddy Power sat down with ex-Hammer Nigel Winterburn where he discussed manager David Moyes and his position potentially being under threat.
After West Ham challenged for European spaces in the last couple of seasons, they have somewhat dropped off this season and are currently sitting 17th in the league table.
On their recent success, Winterburn believes their bad form in the Premier League this season is down to key players over previous campaigns taking a dip in form and making a number signings in the summer transfer window.
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“West Ham have done tremendously well over the last three seasons, and we were expecting them to be around the top six," Winterburn told the betting company. "Then, they brought some players in and lost form, players who had previously been playing to a high level dropped off, and that's affected the whole team.”
West Ham have won just one of their last five games and Winterburn has said that they need to move away from the relegation battle fast as they don’t want to be stuck with a few games remaining.
Unbeaten in their last two Premier League fixtures, including a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, the ex-defender believes there are reasons to believe the east London outfit will improve in the second-half of the league campaign.
Winterburn explained: “There are signs that it's coming back slowly for West Ham, but they want to make sure they quickly move away from that relegation battle. They don't want to be caught in that with seven or eight games to go.”
Although Moyes has given West Ham success in recent seasons, he reached the UEFA Europa League semi-final last season, there is speculation in the media that the Scot is under pressure as the Hammers look to avoid relegation.
Winterburn added that he is glad they have given Moyes extra time and due to injuries and new players the squad has not gelled as a team yet.
“I'm glad West Ham have given David Moyes time because he's done a fantastic job. They brought in some players and strengthened the side, but it hasn't quite worked, maybe due to injuries or just that lack of gelling together. They've got a good squad and they shouldn’t be where they are.”
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