IRONS FACING THE BIGGEST SCRAP OF ALL

Moyes thrown in to fight horrifying prospect of drop and collapse of brave new world at London Stadium

FOR both West Ham and David Moyes the motivation is simple – a fight to avoid the nightmare scenario.

For Moyes – sacked at Manchester United, Real Sociedad before quitting at Sunderland – taking the Hammers down would mean a huge blow to his managerial ambitions at the top level of English football. For West Ham failure would mean a plunge into the abyss. A fall into the Championship that would render the brave new world they believed they were entering with their move to the London Stadium a wasteland.

They simply had to take the move to sack Slaven Bilic.

Striker Andy Carroll unwittingly hinted at the concerns on Saturday when he called out Hammers fans for turning their backs on the team long before the final whistle.

Against Brighton a fortnight ago and again, at home to Liverpool, the stadium was half-empty with 15 minutes to go. The supporters had had enough.

Imagine that on a regular basis in the Championship next season. With the good players long gone, the atmosphere toxic and the remaining underachievers believing themselves to be above a scrap for promotion.

Imagine the scalp they would be for the second-tier regulars. The battle-hardened bruisers that would queue up to chin them week in, week out if their attitude isn’t right.

Should Moyes fail to impress over the next six months, West Ham will want to turn to the likes of Marco Silva, Manuel Pellegrini or Roberto Mancini.

None of that trio wanted to break their contracts at Watford, Hebei China Fortune and Zenit St Petersburg

Failure for Moyes would mean West Ham would plunge into the abyss

respectively before the end of the season.

None of that trio will come anywhere near West Ham should they plunge out of the Premier League.

The Hammers can forget about that calibre of manager altogether if they are not operating at the top level.

Carroll reckons the club are too good to go down and was steadfast in his belief as he insisted as much on Saturday.

Yet the Hammers sit thirdbottom on nine points – the same number at this stage

They’re on 9 points, the same number at this stage when they last went down

when they were relegated six years ago.

Confidence is low, the morale of the fans is even lower and ticket sales could plummet if the unthinkable becomes a stark reality.

It is the reason why West Ham had to take the decision to put Bilic out of his misery. All the promoted clubs – Brighton, Newcastle and Huddersfield – have been far more competitive than many would have expected.

The Premier League has been the most competitive we have seen. The Irons couldn’t risk keeping things as they were going into the second half of the season.

Moyes may have failed at United but they were perhaps too big for him.

As for Sunderland, we now know they are a basket case of a club. If West Ham – a far more stable, ambitious club – get the Moyes that pulled up trees at Everton then a difficult period for both parties could still have a happy ending.

Hammers fans remain distinctly underwhelmed by Moyes’ appointment.

The steely Scot is driven, however, by the desire to restore the lofty reputation that he took years to build at Goodison Park.

Should the fans get behind him and the players wake up, that could yet work massively in West Ham’s favour.