Ranking the five favourites to replace Nuno Espirito Santo at West Ham: Bilic, O’Neil… | OneFootball

Nuno Espirito Santo has only been in the West Ham job for a few months, but he’s already coming under severe pressure after overseeing a dismal run of results that sees the club languishing in the relegation zone.

The 3-0 defeat at bottom-placed, previously winless Wolves leaves the Hammers 18th in the Premier League table, four points behind Nottingham Forest and seven behind in-form Leeds. The picture is looking increasingly bleak.

There aren’t many reports that West Ham are looking to dispense with Nuno’s services just yet, but his job will surely come under threat if things continue as they are for much longer.

With that in mind, we’ve had a look through Oddschecker and ranked the five favourites to replace Nuno in the West Ham dugout should the club’s hierarchy decide to make a change.

1. Slaven Bilic – 5/4

The overwhelming favourite with the bookies right now, Bilic’s name cropped up frequently when Potter was under pressure in the early months of the campaign.

No smoke without fire? It certainly sounds as though West Ham at least sounded out the Croatian over the possibility of a return to the London Stadium, and he remains a popular among the fanbase.

The 57-year-old’s stock has probably never been higher than a decade so ago, when he led the club to 7th and 11th-place finishes. His journeyman CV hasn’t been especially impressive since then, though, with forgettable stints at Al-Ittihad, West Brom, Beijing Guoan, Watford and Al-Fateh.

2. Gary O’Neil – 4/1

O’Neil helped the Hammers get promoted back in the Allardyce era, making over 50 appearances for the club.

He’s not the sexiest name on the market, but he did keep both Bournemouth and Wolves up when they were both largely unfancied. While the underlying numbers were cause for concern, and the style was unlikely to bowl over too many Twitter tacticos, you can’t argue with results.

West Ham need a firefighter. The days of Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce are over. O’Neil is probably the closest thing to a modern-day equivalent.

3. Frank Lampard – 8/1

This one raises an eyebrow.

West Ham is Lampard’s boyhood club, for whom he made almost 200 appearances, but his move to Chelsea left a sour taste. To say the least. The club’s owners could scarcely be any more unpopular than they already are – but bringing back Lampard certainly be one way to test that theory out.

Regardless of that, Coventry City look destined to be playing in the Premier League next season. That looks increasingly less certain to be the case for West Ham.

This one makes no sense in a number of ways.

4. Michael Carrick – 10/1

Another former England international midfielder who left for a London rival, Carrick never burned his bridges to the same extent as Lampard. We can see him back in East London at some point.

The 44-year-old would do well to land a Premier League job, given how things fizzled out at Middlesbrough, but he established a reputation as a promising young coach in his first year or so on Teesside.

If West Ham do decide to pull the trigger on Nuno, that would suggest they’re not willing to throw in the towel just yet (alongside their January business).

Carrick would represent a major risk when it comes to survival, but they could do worse if they’re looking to build back better from square one in the second tier. One to keep an eye on if (or when?) they truly look doomed.

5. Gareth Southgate – 12/1

You get the sense that while Southgate showed world-class diplomacy at dealing with the media, he didn’t especially enjoy all the noise and hysterics from the press that came with the territory as England manager.

He seems to be enjoying the quieter pace of a life outside management, writing a book and speaking at the odd event. It doesn’t feel as though he’d be especially eager to throw himself into saving a side four points adrift of safety.

It’s hard to judge exactly what Southgate’s level is in terms of the club game, but West Ham would surely be somewhere near the top end of offers likely to come his way.