Does anybody actually want the West Ham managers job?

I must apologise to my regular readers as I am going to write another article about West Ham.

I am not a West Ham fan but I admire them as a club and I just had to comment on the managerial situation at the club.

Denied

Since West Ham boss Avram Grant was sacked on Sunday a plethora of managers have denied any interest in the vacant managerial position. It’s starting to make me wonder if anybody actually wants the job.

Former-Middlesbrough and England boss Steve McClaren has already ruled himself out of the position, to the great relief of the West Ham faithful. He is even more unpopular than Wayne Rooney at Anfield.

Another former-England boss Glenn Hoddle has also ruled himself out. When asked about the West Ham vacancy he told Sky Sports: “ At the moment I don’t think the timing is right, put it that way.”

The ex-Tottenham midfielder has taken time out of management to concentrate his attention on his football academy in Spain. I don’t really think that he would have been anymore of a popular appointment than the aforementioned McClaren.

Amused

Owner David Sullivan has revealed that he has been left amused by managers ruling themselves out of taking the position, claiming that those mentioned in the press were unlikely to be offered the post anyway.

Sullivan told the London Evening Standard: “We are amused by certain individuals saying they don’t want the job when they haven’t been considered for it. We’ve had approaches by some good candidates but we treat all applications as confidential.”

The West Ham supremo has also ruled out a possible return for former-West Ham hero Paulo Di Canio, stating that the Italian’s lack of managerial experience has lead to him being ruled out as a replacement for Avram Grant.

Candidates

Despite high-profile coaches ruling themselves out there is still a long list of candidates for the job. The likes of David Jones, Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce currently look like the forerunners for the position.

Failed

Dave Jones is a highly-rated boss but his Cardiff side have again failed to gain promotion to the Premier League, after suffering a semi-final play-off defeat to Reading. However it’s believed that Jones is high on the list of the West Ham board’s wish list.

Unlucky

The other two likely candidates can count themselves highly unlucky to currently be out of work. Chris Hughton was dismissed earlier this season by Newcastle, despite the Magpies sitting comfortably in midtable.

That was after Hughton had helped the Geordies return to the Premier League after just one season outside the top flight. I really don’t see how Alan Pardew can be considered a better boss. Chris Hughton would be a good choice for West Ham in their current predicament.

Just like Hughton, when Sam Allardyce lost his job with Blackburn his side were sitting in midtable. The new Indian owners decided to fire the ex-Bolton boss because they wanted the team to play more attractive football.

It hasn’t quite worked out for the Indian Bernard Matthew brothers. Since Allardyce left the club they have struggled and are just one point away from the relegation zone. Sam Allardyce’s sides may not play the most attractive football, but his teams usual get decent results.

Current caretaker Kevin Keen has thrown his hat in the ring for the job. He has been loyal to West Ham for a long time, both as a player and coach. However I think that West Ham will be looking for a more experienced boss.

Challenge

Whoever West Ham appoint as boss then they will face a massive challenge in getting the club back into the Premier League. The new boss is likely to have to sell most of his squad and basically start all over again.

I’m sure the West Ham board will be thinking long and hard about their next managerial appointment. It will probably be the most important appointment of their reign, as the club are at a crucial crossroads.

If they get the wrong man in then the Premier League may not see the Hammers for along time to come and the club could fall even further than football‘s pyramid. And that would be sad for such a great football club.