Hammers News

A hand grenade has just been rolled into the Premier League relegation battle by a mystery Spurs star and rivals West Ham and Nottingham Forest will be rubbing their hands with glee.

With nine games to go in the Premier League relegation battle, it looks like a four-way fight between West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Leeds to avoid the dreaded drop.

Spurs and the Hammers were fortunate the three promoted clubs were so woeful last season as they finished 17th and 14th respectively without ever being in any real danger of going down.

This season is a different story altogether and rejuvenated West Ham’s remarkable turnaround since January is piling pressure on Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

West Ham and Forest the big winners after Spurs civil war claim

The Hammers have closed a seven-point gap on Forest and a 12-point gap to bitter rivals Spurs in the last two months.

Ironically, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Irons started their turnaround with a last gasp win at Tottenham.

Now West Ham can climb out of the relegation zone with a positive result against Man City, for 24 hours at least.

With Forest and Tottenham not in action until Sunday and facing Fulham and Liverpool respectively, West Ham can rise above both with a victory.

The Hammers are undoubtedly the form team in the relegation scrap. But Forest are capable of picking up positive results too as their 2-2 draw at Man City last time out has proved.

Spurs, though, are in freefall and are a complete crisis case on all fronts.

With 12 injuries, suspensions, the crowd up in arms, another manager on the brink and players at their lowest ebb, Tottenham are fast becoming favourites for the drop in the eyes of many.

In fact Spurs are the only English top-flight club yet to win a league match in 2026, having gone 11 games without victory.

While Hammers are on the up, mystery Spurs star ‘isn’t bothered’ about relegation

The Champions League offered no respite in midweek with the disastrous 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid.

Hammers fans would love nothing more than to stay up at the expense of their rivals.

How would YOU set the Hammers up against Man City? ⚒️ v 🩵

Three at the back? Another start for Kante and Pablo?

So West Ham and Nottingham Forest will relish a mystery star’s Tottenham row leak which has emerged in the wake of their Madrid mauling.

Teams scrapping to survive will take any potential advantage or edge over their opponents at this stage of the season.

Tottenham, Forest and Leeds will be delighted Crysencio Summerville has picked up a knock for example.

But the news seems to go from bad to worse for Spurs – and that is music to the ears of Nuno and Vítor Pereira.

According to The Athletic journalist Jay Harris, something of a civil war is breaking out in the Tottenham dressing room.

While West Ham’s players were filmed celebrating together in the dressing room after making the FA Cup quarter-finals this week, it seems Tottenham’s changing room is at loggerheads.

Harris claims some Tottenham players who are ‘determined to arrest the team’s decline’ are angered by the lack of application from some of their teammates, who ‘they believe are not motivated to help their cause’.

The report even contains a leak from a mystery player revealing one of his team-mates is not worried about Tottenham being relegated – because he believes he ‘can and will leave the club this summer’ regardless.

West Ham and Forest are the big winners as chaos reigns supreme at Spurs.

Tottenham seem to be the team circling the Premier League plughole right now.

And as the Hammers and Tricky Trees show unity and fight, Spurs lack leadership and togetherness just as the season enters the most important final furlong.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Back in 2002/03, Joe Cole was part of a West Ham United side who famously suffered relegation from the Premier League despite racking up 42 points under Glenn Roeder.

A quarter of a century later, the Upton Park graduate predicts that Nuno Espirito Santo’s current crop will end 2025/26 with one fewer than the side of Paolo di Canio, David James, Trevor Sinclair and more.

But still enough, Joe Cole feels, to ensure Premier League football at West Ham United beyond the coming summer.

OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯

Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!

Joe Cole thinks West Ham United will relegate Tottenham Hotspur

West Ham are just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur and level with Nottingham Forest in 17th. Spurs travel to Liverpool on Sunday, albeit life is not much easier for Nuno as Manchester City come to town.

“So before we come on air, we looked at the Spurs, Nottingham Forest, and then West Ham’s remaining fixtures,” Cole says on the Dressing Room podcast.

“This is me, right? I’ve gone with Forest [finishing] on 43 points, West Ham on 41 points, and Spurs on 38 points, being relegated. So it’s going right down to the wire.”

Carlton Cole, the striker who helped fire Sam Allardyce’s side to a play-off final victory over Blackpool following their most recent relegation in 2011, is setting his sights even higher than namesake Joe.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

“West Ham are going to finish the season on 45 points,” a bullish, albeit possibly biased Carlton argues. “Forest are going to get 37 points, and Spurs are going to be out of it by April on 32 points.”

Statisticians Opta still believe that relegation is more likely than survival for West Ham at this stage. Yet, taking a staggering 12 more points than Spurs since beating their London neighbours on January 17th, the momentum is very much in their favour.

West Ham have also accumulated eight more points than a Forest side now onto their fourth manager of the season. A campaign which began with Nuno sacked in late-August looks set to end with Vitor Pereira in the dugout, although it is testament to the madness of Evangelos Marinakis that another sacking does not seem totally implausible.

Crysencio Summerville is being assessed after Brentford blow

An injury picked up by star winger Crysencio Summerville does dent that new-found confidence though.

A source has told Hammers News that Summerville picked up a calf knock against Brentford last night. A blow, yes, but at least this is not a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue which forced him to miss eight months of action in 2025.

If Summerville is out, who do YOU want to see start on the left?

While Nuno Espirito Santo is determined to challenge for FA Cup glory – a penalty shoot-out victory over the Bees means West Ham will face Leeds in the quarter-finals – Premier League survival remains the priority.

A victory at Wembley would be wonderful. An evening to rival that Prague party of 2023. But you only need look at Wigan Athletic – a third-tier side these days – to understand just how damaging relegation can be.

The Latics dropped out of the top flight just days after Ben Watson’s header stunned Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. Thirteen years and four more relegations later, they are yet to return.

Forget ENIC, Daniel Levy, Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor – Tottenham Hotspur could be relegated simply because of the scintillating performances of one West Ham star.

Two months ago today West Ham had just lost 2-1 at home to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, cutting Nuno Espirito Santo’s side seven points adrift of safety and 12 away from bitter rivals Spurs.

At that time it would have seemed laughable that the Hammers would catch Tottenham Hotspur up, let alone make them arguably the favourites for the drop heading into the last nine games of the season.

But that is exactly what has happened, with West Ham’s Premier League revival actually being sparked by a last gasp win at Spurs.

Deeney says Tottenham’s biggest problem plays for rivals West Ham

After their 1-0 win over Fulham in midweek, West Ham pulled to within one point of 16th-placed Tottenham, who then lost 3-1 at home to Palace a day later.

While the Hammers have hit their best form for over two years, Spurs are very much the opposite.

When was the last time a West Ham player excited you so much?! 😍

Igor Tudor has a thankless task on his hands with Tottenham stuck in a downward spiral as they circle the Premier League plughole for the second season running.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Like West Ham’s supporters, Tottenham fans have a plethora of grievances against their club over the situation they are in.

As well as the owners, interim boss Tudor is the latest in the firing line in north London.

However, Tottenham’s biggest problem is actually West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville.

That’s according to Troy Deeney, who suggests the flying Dutchman could be the reason Spurs get relegated.

Naming Summerville in his BBC Sport team of the week after a seventh goal in 10 games, Deeney said the Hammers have the man to help them dump their bitter rivals Tottenham into the Championship.

Deeney: West Ham’s flying Dutchman Summerville could send Spurs down

“It feels like week after week we are talking about this guy,” Deeney said.

“He has been fantastic for West Ham, cutting in on his right foot, and scoring goals. He might be one of West Ham’s better buys, which is interesting because people thought he was a waste of time earlier in the season.

If you think I’m talking rubbish by naming this team vs Brentford – let me know why 👇

Alternatively, feel free to let me what (if anything) I've got spot on 😂

“He has come in and is now doing really well – getting the winner at Fulham on Wednesday.

“Could he be the reason why Spurs go down?”

West Ham were enduring a nightmare season up to that defeat against Forest.

So who could have imagined this potential dream ending that is now on the cards.

The Hammers will just be ecstatic to stay up no matter how they achieve it.

But West Ham fans made it clear who they want to see drop when they chanted “Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you” after the win at Fulham.

There is even a scenario where the Hammers could throw another spanner in the works for Arsenal’s title hopes in May while potentially pushing Tottenham closer to relegation in the process.

The bad news for Spurs is that Summerville has the carrot of a place in Holland’s World Cup squad dangling in front of him just to keep his focus as sharp as his footwork.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Former West Ham United manager Harry Redknapp believes that Tottenham may now be favourites to go down this season ahead of the Hammers due to their disastrous form.

This season’s relegation battle involving West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham is fascinating.

Unless one is of a Tottenham or Millwall persuasion, it feels like the world is wondering just how things would play out if it was Spurs who were relegated instead of West Ham.

OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯

Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!

Indeed, West Ham could overtake Spurs in the relegation battle reasonably soon and Redknapp believes the north London side could in fact be favourites for the drop – despite being a point ahead of West Ham.

Redknapp thinks Tottenham’s performances are a “disaster”

Redknapp told talkSPORT: “Four or five weeks ago, I really couldn’t see Tottenham being involved in a relegation scrap. Every week that’s gone by and it’s got worse. West Ham are now playing very well, which is great.

“Forest picked up a big point the other night, you know. The only other side getting sucked in now is Leeds. Yeah, they’ve got sucked into that battle as well.

“I thought they were clear because they played very well. They’ve had a good season, played very well well. But Tottenham are bang in it now, I must be truthful. They’re looking like, you know, they could even be favourites out of the four to go. I mean, it’s that desperate.”

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Having managed both clubs to success, Redknapp does feel well-placed to comment.

Redknapp isn’t wrong, either.

Spurs do not look like a team, an accusation that could have well been made about West Ham prior to their turnaround in form from late January onwards.

Where West Ham have come together and have thrived in the face of adversity, Spurs have crumbled.

Even with difficult games to come, one can see where West Ham might hurt teams. There is reason to believe they’ll take something from their upcoming clashes against Manchester City and Aston Villa.

It’s impossible to say that about Spurs, on the other hand. Clearly, that will be good news for every West Ham supporter here in east London and beyond.

West Ham lifted themselves out of a crisis following the defeats to Wolves and Forest in early January, all while Spurs were plunging themselves even deeper into one.

Only a point splits the two sides but all the momentum is with West Ham United right now.

Would any Spurs fan take the position they now find themselves in over West Ham’s? That seems doubtful and it certainly isn’t true the other way around.

Not for the first time, a thrilling London derby between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur could prove the turning point in a Premier League survival battle.

When Alphonse Areola clattered into Morgan Gibbs-White on January 6th – a late penalty seeing relegation rivals Nottingham Forest deliver a seemingly fatal blow – West Ham United found themselves seven points adrift of the Midlanders, plus a further 13 points behind Tottenham Hotspur.

Two months on, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now level with Forest in 17th. Not only that, the gap between themselves and a free-falling Spurs stands at a measly two points.

Three HUGE points 😍 Rate West Ham’s chances of survival in just one word 👇

As turnarounds go, West Ham’s form since matchday 22 is up there with Adam Sandler’s late-career evolution from Razzie regular to Critics’ Choice nominee.

Momentum is with Nuno’s West Ham United in Premier League relegation battle

Crysencio Summerville scored the winner at Fulham on Wednesday night. While Nottingham Forest’s stirring fightback at the Etihad scrubbed away some of the shine, the momentum is very much with the East Londoners right now.

From matchday 22 onwards, West Ham have picked up 14 points from eight games.

That is twice the amount Forest have accumulated in the same period, and a staggering 12 more than bitter rivals Tottenham. In fact, no team has performed worse than Spurs since mid-January.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

If that heartbreaking home loss to Nottingham Forest felt like the final arrow fired into Hammers hearts, then it is fitting that another ‘Great Escape’ appears to have been ignited by a dramatic away victory at the home of their most hated opponents.

A Spurs side they have plunged into the deepest recesses of the abyss.

Callum Wilson’s Spurs winner a turning point for both clubs

Callum Wilson was fairly anonymous at Fulham, yes; only ten touches and two shots in 60 minutes of action. But, in hindsight, his scrambled, stoppage time winner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 17th may have been the moment when Andy Dufresne’s rock hammer first started chipping away at the wall behind Rita Hayworth.

And the Germans would probably have to come up with a whole new word – überschadenfreude, perhaps – if it turns out that West Ham kick-started Tottenham’s downfall on that potentially season-shifting afternoon in North London.

In March 2007, West Ham were staring relegation in the face after Paul Stalteri broke Hammers’ hearts with a stoppage-time winner in a 4-3 Spurs triumph at Upton Park.

As he would later explain on James Richardson’s Totally Extra podcast though, former boss Alan Curbishley felt that performance was a turning point in their campaign; the sort of performance a team down and out can take heart and belief from, and use as fuel to mount a Hollywood-ian comeback.

Nineteen years later, another London derby meeting with Tottenham could have massive repercussions on both sides of the city.

West Ham United gleefully took their opportunity to mock bitter rivals Tottenham with a relegation chant of their own following their win over Fulham.

Only a few days after sections of the Liverpool support told West Ham United fans they were going down, some of the Hammers who travelled to Craven Cottage turned their attention on that front to Spurs.

Who was your MOTM against Fulham and why? 🤔

Indeed, a Crysencio Summerville goal proved enough as West Ham United beat Fulham 1-0 in a huge result at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now just a point behind Spurs in the relegation battle, and Irons fans were keen to remind them of that.

West Ham fans chant “Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you”

Following what was a nervy win at Craven Cottage, some of the West Ham fans who made the short trip across London were eager to celebrate.

As relayed by Peter Smith of Sky Sports, fans chanted: “We’re coming for you, Tottenham Hotspur we’re coming for you.”

A big call from Nuno! What did you make of JC?!

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

The pressure on Spurs is now huge. They are in genuine free fall right now and failing to beat Crystal Palace on Thursday night would only deepen it.

While this has been a miserable season for West Ham until reasonably recently, the idea of catching Spurs is surely enough to save it.

The momentum is with them in the relegation battle, even if there are some hard fixtures to come.

When West Ham could overtake Tottenham in the Premier League table

The Premier League is on a pause this coming weekend as the FA Cup takes centre stage, with West Ham up against Brentford in the fifth round.

After that, however, the Hammers welcome Manchester City on Saturday, 14 March, 2026.

Clearly, that looks like a very difficult game but Nottingham Forest did manage to hold Pep Guardiola’s side to a draw on Wednesday.

If they can get an admittedly unlikely victory, West Ham could be out of the relegation zone by the time Spurs play Liverpool the following day.

It’s all heating up nicely.

Carlton Cole remains one of the more popular strikers of the modern era at West Ham United, but his career could have looked very different had Roman Abramovich not scotched a move from Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur.

Last summer, Mohammed Kudus became the first player to join Spurs from the Hammers since Scott Parker 14 years previously.

It has been even longer since anyone left another London giant for Tottenham. Gus Poyet, back in 2001, is still the most recent transfer between Chelsea and their rivals from the north. Two years before Roman Abramovich completed his takeover of the Stamford Bridge outfit, and forever changed the face of English football.

🎶 Always believe in Carlton Cole! 🎶

How does Cole rank among your favourite West Ham strikers?

Abramovich already had a very strained relationship with Tottenham by the time Carlton Cole underwent a medical at White Hart Lane in 2005. According to Sky Sports, Martin Jol’s Spurs were on the verge of signing the Chelsea academy graduate for £2 million on a four-year deal.

Fortunately for West Ham United, Abramovich called off that arrangement as soon as he became aware of it. Cole would move to another London outfit just one year later.

West Ham United icon Carlton Cole remembers his failed Tottenham transfer

While not a prolific goalscorer, Carlton Cole was ‘unplayable’ on his day in a claret and blue jersey. He would go on to score 68 goals across nearly 300 games and during almost a decade’s worth of service.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

One can only imagine how differently his career would have mapped out had Abramovich been a more forgiving character.

“Before I went on holiday, I did my medical at Spurs!” Cole says opposite Adebayo Akinfenwa on his Beast Mode On podcast. “I remember I’d done everything, was about to sign, under Martin Jol. So I’ve gone, done the medical and everything.

“That’s when I got the Abramovich phone call. He told me, ‘he doesn’t do business with Spurs’. That’s why I didn’t go to Spurs. I was going to go to Spurs!

“Remember, before he bought Chelsea, he was going to buy Spurs. The way it happened, he went in a helicopter to London because he wanted to buy a football club. Spurs were the one that stuck out to him. He did the deal with Spurs, someone up top changed the deal that he’d agreed on buying it for, and then he’s like: ‘I can’t do business like this’.

“So he says, we’ll go Chelsea and buy that!'”

Roman Abramovich refused to let Spurs buy the Stamford Bridge kid

Cole remembers being extremely frustrated by Abramovich’s insistence that he return to West London, not to mention the threat of a loan stint in faraway Russia.

“Tottenham came back to Chelsea and said, ‘We want some money off [the price] because we found something in his knee’. [Abramovich] said; ‘No, we aren’t doing a deal with Spurs so you better come back. I’ll send him on loan to CSKA Moscow’,” Cole recalls, speaking as his old employers prepare to face Liverpool on Saturday.

Only two Liverpool stars have a HIGHER FotMob rating than Matty! 🤯

Surely you wouldn't swap him for Gravenberch?

“I was p***** off! ‘You lot are doing me dirty here!’You’re not playing me and you’re not letting me go where I want to go. What are we doing here? You want to send me to Russia?’

“So I went away to clear my head, I went to Sierra Leone. Then I get the phone call, ‘we’ve got something else for you, West Ham’.

And that was it. I came back. As soon as I landed, I signed; a West Ham player.”

Flash forward twenty years, and the former England international is still earning a living with the Hammers. He is currently the club’s Loans and Pathways Manager, responsible for the development of an exciting crop of academy kids.

Cole believes Mohamadou Kante is the ‘shining beacon’ of this current generation, though Ezra Mayers, Preston Fearon, Daniel Cummings and Joel Ajala have all made big strides forward themselves in recent times.

The punishment being predicted for Manchester City over the 115 charges could save West Ham, Spurs or Nottingham Forest from relegation, says football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

The Hammers, bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest suddenly have 100 million reasons to take a keen interest in the verdict in the Premier League’s case against Manchester City.

Staying aboard the Premier League gravy train is said to be worth at least £100m per season – although for the likes of West Ham and Spurs that figure is probably even higher.

The Irons, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest are a world away from being able to compete with Man City.

Mega Man City points deduction could see them relegated instead of West Ham, Spurs or Forest

While Pep Guardiola’s side are going for another title, it is looking like West Ham, Tottenham and Forest are in a three-way battle to avoid filling the last relegation spot.

But now Man City could directly impact the outcome of that scrap.

This is shocking! 😰 Relegation is going to be dire for West Ham…

What would YOU do to avoid this mess?

Man City and the Premier League have been waiting 14 months for the verdict in the case around the Etihad side’s alleged 115 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Prominent football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Manchester City could be deducted 40 to 60 points if they are found guilty of some of the most serious charges against them.

And that is where West Ham, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest will now be taking a very keen interest in the outcome.

The hearing into Manchester City’s alleged breaches actually concluded over a year ago in December 2024 following a 12-week tribunal. But the independent commission is still yet to make its conclusion public.

While Man City have denied any wrongdoing and are understood to be confident of being cleared, Maguire predicts heavy fines and/or a massive points deduction will be meted out if the hearing goes against them.

And that is where West Ham, Tottenham or Forest could benefit most.

Docking 40-60 points from Man City could be applied to this season, says Maguire

Maguire told The Overlap that a verdict should come within the next few months, with Manchester City and the Premier League likely to get 24 hours’ notice before it is made public.

Basing his assessment on precedents set involving the likes of Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, who were docked six and four points respectively, Maguire says a zero can realistically be added on the end for any Man City points deduction.

How do these appointments make you feel about the relegation battle? 👀

What is unclear is whether any punishment is handed down THIS season.

So Hammers News reached out to Maguire for clarity on that point.

And the three relegation rivals West Ham, Spurs and Forest will be encouraged by his answer, although there are avenues open to Man City if the panel do dish out a points deduction.

Hammers News asked Maguire whether his predicted deduction of between 40-60 points could be applied to the current season.

“Potentially yes,” Maguire exclusively told Hammers News.

“But they (Man City) could appeal.”

Man City are currently second in the Premier League table on 56 points with 11 games to go.

That is a potential 33 points. Even Man City won every game to end on 89 points – a deduction of 60 points would leave them on 29 – the same number Spurs currently have and four more than the Hammers.

Assuming West Ham, Forest and Tottenham will be adding to the tallies in the race to get to 40 points, such a punishment – if handed down this season – would see Man City relegated.

How that would work if Man City then appeal is anyone’s guess.

That is why a verdict is surely needed sooner rather than later to avoid an unholy mess come the summer.

Former West Ham United midfielder Don Hutchison believes the Hammers are still more likely to go down than Tottenham.

While the wins have dried up of late, West Ham United continued their run of reasonably good form by drawing 0-0 with Bournemouth on Saturday.

Things are looking up 😍 So who are we sending down to the Championship?!

Forest? Leeds?……Spurs? 🙏

It means Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are just two points from safety in the Premier League, and four from a Tottenham side in genuine freefall.

However, Hutchison still believes Spurs are more likely to beat the drop.

Don Hutchison gives West Ham a 40% chance of being relegated – and Tottenham just 20%

The former Hammers midfielder believes West Ham and Nottingham Forest both share a 40% chance of being relegated. Spurs, meanwhile, are handed just a 20% chance.

The pundit was asked for his prediction on who would be relegated. In response he wrote on X: “40% West Ham, 40% Forest, 20% Spurs.”

Hutchison did also add that he hoped West Ham avoided the drop, however.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

“All three have a really hard run in. Ovs I’m keeping everything crossed for West Ham mate.”

The fact that West Ham are even in this position is a testament to the fine work they’ve done in recent weeks.

While it doesn’t make up for the misery that they put supporters through during most of the first half of the season, they have at least responded in recent weeks.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

What the experts are saying about West Ham’s chances of getting relegated this season

Following a recent turnaround in form, West Ham fans are starting to dream of Premier League survival.

Nuno’s side are certainly making a fist of it. Indeed, they could feasibly be out of the relegation zone by Saturday evening, should they beat Liverpool at Anfield – which will clearly be tough.

However, given this was a team that looked dead and buried as recently as mid-January, it’s an impressive turnaround.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to see what the experts are saying. According to the analysts at Opta, West Ham still have a 78.82% chance of being relegated.

Forest are handed a 23.24% chance of it, while Spurs are given just a 4.84% chance.

Still, there is little to suggest that Tottenham will get more points than West Ham during the final 11 games of the season.

They are in a better position right now but all the momentum is with Nuno’s side.

It’s going to be fascinating to see what unfolds.

Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood have warned Tottenham Hotspur should fear relegation from the Premier League more than West Ham.

West Ham and bitter rivals Spurs are in what now looks to be a four-team battle to avoid filling the Premier League’s final relegation place.

With Burnley and Wolves all but down, the Hammers, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds are in a dogfight to survive.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham currently sit in 18th place, two points off Forest in 17th and four points off Tottenham in 16th.

Spurs in trouble as West Ham rise claim Redknapp and Sherwood

Despite statistics showing Spurs are the worst team in the top flight this year, their chances of actually being relegated have been downplayed by most.

Except Tim Sherwood and Harry Redknapp.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

Ex Hammers player and manager Redknapp has pulled no punches in his assessment of the situation.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Redknapp admitted he wanted the chance to return to Spurs as interim boss for the rest of the season.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

He wants West Ham and Tottenham to stay up given his divided loyalties to both.

West Ham can benefit as Redknapp warns of ‘big Spurs gamble’

But he says Tottenham have taken a huge gamble which may backfire in West Ham’s favour by appointing Igor Tudor.

“They’ve (Spurs) brought somebody in haven’t they but nobody knew him,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.

“He’s had lots of jobs and been around the block a bit but never managed in England, the guy Tudor, so it’s a big gamble.

“It’s a great job for somebody for next year, if they go down they’ll come back up, they could (go down), I think they’ll be alright but I’ve got a foot in both camps with West Ham, I want them to stay up as well so I’m hoping that both teams stay up.

“But then that leaves Nottingham Forest, who are a great club. But one of the three of them are going to go, I don’t see anybody else.”

How do YOU look back on Jermain Defoe?

Did he ruin his legacy?

Former Tottenham player and manager Sherwood went one further than Redknapp, pointing out that West Ham are a team on the up while Tottenham are in freefall.

While Sherwood said Spurs have an advantage because they have points in the bag over the Hammers, he believes Tottenham simply don’t have the players for a relegation scrap.

Sherwood: Organised West Ham have more fight than Tottenham

“They’re (Tottenham) in a fight now,” Sherwood said on Sky Sports News.

“And have they got enough fight in their bellies, the same as them other sides as we’re seeing?

“I certainly have been watching recently West Ham, who are in the worst position out of everyone because they’re in it, they look like they’ve got some organisation and they’ve got some real fight in their bellies.

“The next two games are going to be so crucial for Tottenham… they need to get points and they need to get them quick.

“Because if they really get into trouble and West Ham start picking up points and they get right behind them (in the table), I’m not sure they’ve got the players for the fight, I don’t really believe they have.

“Because a lot of players come to Tottenham not for a relegation battle, so they’re going to have to find something from somewhere. I believed they would have enough but I think it’s probably my heart ruling my head there.”

Remaining fixtures in the Premier League relegation battle: