West Ham: Early Big Sam exit unthinkable despite boos

Sam Allardyce's future is in doubt despite a brilliant season

Pro-Big Sam West Ham fan Michael Lintorn tries to make sense of the latest crowd campaign against Sam Allardyce...

West Ham have nothing to complain about in terms of on-pitch performance this season.

They are eighth and have been there or higher since September, while 38 points is their joint-highest ever 25-game Premier League tally. They have lost just once to a team below them - Everton, which they avenged in the cup - whilst still experiencing the glory of victories over Liverpool and Man City.

So when there are still deafening "f*** off Sam Allardyce" chants from many of the 5,500 travelling fans at West Brom, it is reasonable to conclude that they surely can't be questioning his ability. They simply dislike him and refuse to accept him regardless of the fine job that he has done for their club.

In that context, it creates huge uncertainty over his long-term future, especially as his contract is up in the summer. Chief decision-maker David Sullivan's support has diminished in the past 12 months, judging by several unhelpful public statements, and the dissenters in the stands refuse to be hushed.

Then again, the expectation was that Allardyce would be ditched last year after a relegation struggle and two humiliating cup exits, but he was retained under a strange set of provisions which included playing more attractive football and relinquishing some control over transfers.

Sullivan and friends know that it is imperative that the Londoners are in the Premier League in 18 months when the doors to the Olympic Stadium open, and none of the Allardyce alternatives - Harry Redknapp, Slaven Bilic or Glenn Hoddle perhaps - offer as believable a promise of survival as him.

The variable this time around is that Allardyce's reputation has increased to everyone bar his Boleyn Ground critics. He has taken an unfancied side into the top eight, instantly integrated a load of new signings (five of them Premier League newcomers) and proven his tactical versatility by dabbling in diamonds and 3-5-2s.

It might be that Allardyce decides that instead of signing up for another few years of abuse, he will seize a role with more grateful employers. A vacancy is anticipated at QPR, while it is plausible that there will be opportunities in the north east too, even if a return to Newcastle is unlikely.

Regardless of what happens in the summer, one thing that can be stated with a hefty amount of confidence is that he will see out the campaign at West Ham, despite his sudden emergence as 3.55/2 second favourite in Betfair's Next Manager To Leave Position market.

The boss in question has to go before the final set of fixtures to trigger a payout and Sullivan and David Gold aren't mid-season meddlers. They waited until the end of 2009/10 to axe Gianfranco Zola and until their 2010/11 relegation was confirmed - with one dead rubber to spare - to sack Avram Grant.

The only other mid-season managerial change that they have overseen in the past 13 years was enforced on them while at Birmingham, when Steve Bruce departed St Andrew's for Wigan in 2007.