Stubbs hopes both his pals beat relegation
Alan Stubbs knows only too well how horrible it feels to be relegated from the English Premier League.
He fervently hopes that two of his friends, David Moyes and Paul Lambert, don’t sample it in May.
Twenty years ago, Lambert, now manager of Stoke City, was one of Stubbs’ team-mates at Celtic.
Moyes, meanwhile, was Stubbs’ manager at Everton after that, and is now the West Ham gaffer.
The Hammers sit in 17th place, with 30 points from 30 games.
Lambert’s Potters sit two places below them with three points less, but have played one game more.
A look at the table would lead most people to suggest that West Brom are as good as down.
That leaves another two clubs to join them, and you can take your pick from seven as to who it will be with Newcastle United, Swansea City, Huddersfield Town, Crystal Palace and Southampton all in the mix.
It would appear that 37 points will guarantee survival, but 36 might just get you over the line.
Stubbs wants to see Moyes and Lambert reach the required total as quickly as possible.
The former Hibernian manager told The Sunday Post: “It’s getting to the business end of the season, and it is most definitely squeaky-bum time. “There is no room for error. “As a player, I’ve been in this situation with Bolton, Sunderland and Derby. “It’s not pleasant. “Davie, of course, was through it last season with Sunderland, and he’ll be doing everything in his power to avoid another relegation.
“He has the experience and knowledge to get West Ham out of their predicament.
“But it’s also about the players standing up and taking responsibility when it gets to this stage.
“They have to be fearless and full of belief. But the flip side is that confidence can be low when you are at the wrong end of the table.
“Paul was in similar territory with Aston Villa four or five years ago and steered them clear.
“He is another man with an abundance of experience and he will draw on that in the weeks ahead.
“The last thing you can do is sit down and feel sorry for yourself. You need to be positive and win games.
“Paul can call on some very talented players, and has an excellent goalkeeper in Jack Butland. Peter Crouch can also pop with a goal or an assist.
“So I can see my old Celtic team-mate climbing the table – but I think it will go down to the wire.
“Stoke City go to Swansea on the last day and it could well be that winner takes all in that game.
“Davie is at home to Everton on May 13, and the beauty of that may well be that his old club are in limbo.
“They can’t finish in the top six or seven, but can’t go down either.
“When that is the case, it’s only natural that some players have switched off a little bit and have started focusing on their holidays.
“That said, you need to do it on your own and West Ham shouldn’t be relying on help from elsewhere.
“Again, I can see Davie getting the job down. He is an excellent manager and that will shine through in the final few weeks of the campaign.
“As much as I’d like to see Davie and Paul stay up, it will still be sad for the managers, players and supporters who end up relegated.
“It can take months, even years, to recover. It’s a painful process.
“It’s really difficult to call who will survive because it is tight. I can’t remember it being as close as this, with seven or eight teams in the mix.
“Southampton will hope to get a kick-on from the appointment of Mark Hughes, just as was the case with Swansea when they appointed Carlos Carvalhal.
“He has been really good for them, and they have won some tough games.
“Newcastle might be just one win away from safety. They looked doomed a few weeks ago but they have picked up points under Rafa Benitez.
“Huddersfield could slip down. They had a brilliant start but then it maybe all caught up with them. But I like the attitude of their manager, David Wagner.
“Crystal Palace are also in the mix. Roy Hodgson has been in this movie before and had a great escape with West Brom a few years ago. “He might just able to do it again. “Overall, it’s just so tough to call and I think it will all go down to the fate of the last two teams being sealed on the final day. ”