[h8kurdt]

And then there was the goalkeeper Roberto, a disastrous signing and very much one Pellegrini and Husillos must take responsibility for. Not only were there two direct errors leading to goals but a general uncertainty and nervousness that permeated into the defence and had West Ham always looking vulnerable.

Things got so bad that the club phoned Neil Harris, the former Millwall manager, to ask for advice as to whether David Martin, the club’s No 3, was up to the job of playing in the Premier League. He did and impressed on his debut in a win at Chelsea.

In the end though, the results and position in the table were the most damning. A record of only two home wins this season and nine defeats in their past 13 games is impossible to defend. The message to the fans after each one was depressingly similar too: we’ll try to rectify what went wrong, we’ll try to improve. It never convinced or inspired.

Pellegrini will say he would have turned things around with time. He can point to the fact that only once in the past decade have West Ham finished higher or won more points than under him last season (Slaven Bilic in 2015-16). He can also claim victories over Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton.

But they were not enough and that’s why the West Ham hierarchy had been on the lookout for a replacement — if needed — for a while.

The real question is whether they can now put in place a structure to stop it happening all again.

(Photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Good piece about West Ham here