OPINION
West Ham have had a strange season.
After a poor start, they kicked on and looked as if Europa League football could be a real possibility, only to fall away again recently and slide worryingly close to the edges of a relegation battle.
It’s frustrating for fans, and more than a little bit bemusing, but it must also be taken in the context of where the club is at right now.
Under Slavan Bilic, and arguably under David Moyes after him, the Hammers had begun to stagnate and even regress, and that has led to a potentially fatal lack of patience from a fanbase who are desperate to avoid the drop at all costs.
Former Iron Luis Boa Morte, in an interview with The Sun, has been quick to point this out, and suggests that it leads to supporters demanding more from their side.
He said: “It’s normal for the fans to remember it. That’s why they are desperate not to return to that time.
“It’s perhaps why they are so demanding now. They always want you to play good football wherever you are in the league. I’ve never felt anything like it.
“At the moment they are playing well, but the fans always want more.”
There’s nothing wrong with fans wanting their side to do well – that is ultimately what being a supporter is – but the issue West Ham have is that the eagerness to pull away from the dreaded quicksand pull of relegation means that patience and logic can sometimes be thrown out of the window.
They have struggled in recent weeks, but realistically, is there any chance of them finding a better manager than Manuel Pellegrini any time soon? Probably not.
And while it may not be perfect just yet, the level of spending that the board put into the squad last summer must have been enough to keep even the most sceptical of fans optimistic.
Things will take time at the London Stadium, and the Hammers just have to make sure that their paranoia doesn’t get the best of them.