Matt Le Tissier drops West Ham relegation verdict after watching their last two games
West Ham’s lack of star quality and leadership aside from Jarrod Bowen could see them relegated from the Premier League this season.
That is according to Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he has not seen anything so far this season to suggest that they can avoid the drop.
West Ham have endured a turbulent start to the 2025-26 Premier League season which is showing no signs of becoming more positive anytime soon.
Graham Potter was sacked as their manager in September with the club in 19th after picking up just three points from their first five league games, but his replacement Nuno Espirito Santo has been unable to turn the tide as yet.
They are yet to win a game under his watch so far, and were well-beaten by relegation rivals Leeds United last Friday (24 October) to remain second-from-bottom with just four points to their name.
West Ham are in a relegation scrap this season
West Ham finished 14th under Potter last term as they were inconsistent under both him and the sacked Julen Lopetegui, but there was some optimism that he would be able to improve this time around with a squad more suited to his needs.
That was clearly not the case as he was relieved of his duties so soon into the campaign, and now the responsibility is on Nuno to steer them to survival amid serious fan unrest and demands for the board to step down.
Leeds beat the Hammers 2-1 at Elland Road on Friday night, with a late Mateus Fernandes goal reduced to nothing more than a consolation after Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon had put the hosts well in-front after just 15 minutes.
They currently sit four points from safety having picked up just one point in their last six games, and there are clear concerns that they could soon drop back into the Championship after 14 years away.
Le Tissier sees West Ham as relegation candidates with Jarrod Bowen the only standout
Football Insider recently revealed that West Ham regret letting David Moyes leave in 2024, as they are now set to struggle to survive due to so much unrest within the squad and behind the scenes.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England and Southampton striker Le Tissier insisted that he thinks they are in real trouble this season as they lack leadership and quality aside from Jarrod Bowen.
He said: “I think a lot of the teams that were in the Premier League last year probably made a bit of an assumption that, the last two years, the same three teams that came up went down and so that might happen again.
“But this has been a massive change and where West Ham are at the moment is a real cause for concern, especially when you’ve got Sunderland who have 17 points in the bag already at this stage. That was probably one of the teams that everybody went, ‘well, they’re going to go back down again.‘
“So there’s an extra spot that’s up for grabs now that everybody thought was done and dusted, and given the start that West Ham have had, not just given the start, but I think the manner of the performances as well, I think that’s probably more concerning than being where they are.
“You know, if they had put in some decent performances and got a little bit unlucky in a couple of games, but honestly, I’ve watched them against Brentford and I’ve watched them against Leeds and there’s not a lot there. And it is a real concern.
“You’re watching that game (vs Leeds) and you’re just looking for a bit of life in the team somewhere. You know, a leader that’s going to kind of grab the game a little bit and pull them around. They’ve relied on Jarrod Bowen to do that.
“And if he doesn’t do that, you look around the rest of the team, you think, well, where else is that coming from? And at the moment, yeah, I think they’re bang in trouble right now.“