Ipswich Town is the side that have been tipped by many punters to be among the cluster of clubs battling it out for promotion in the Championship this season.
The Tractor Boys, understandably, are many people’s favourites to win the second-tier title after being immediately relegated from the Premier League last term alongside Leicester City and Southampton, with the strength-in-depth at Kieran McKenna’s disposal the main reason behind such claims.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have become one of the division’s best-performing clubs after continuing their upwardly mobile trajectory in the past decade, which has seen the club rise from the depths of League Two and a second period playing away from Coventry, to within a penalty shootout of both the Premier League and the FA Cup final in two of the last three seasons.
However, after agonisingly missing out on a third trip to Wembley in short succession, there is a stronger sense of optimism growing in CV6 that Frank Lampard can end what would have been a 25-year hiatus from the Premier League by the time this season comes to an end, with the former Chelsea and England midfielder having one of the division’s most technically-gifted and exciting squads at his disposal.
However, the feeling which currently surrounds the two Championship sides certainly cannot be associated with West Ham United.
At present, the East London club, who were recently European regulars, look strong certainties to return to the EFL after a lengthy spell in the Premier League, unless they can drastically turn their fortunes around.
And, with Graham Potter continuing to face intense pressure, those at the CBS Arena and Portman Road may follow developments with a hint of nervousness.
Kieran McKenna and Frank Lampard have been named as potential Graham Potter replacements at West Ham
Potter took charge of the Irons in early January after Julen Lopetegui’s underwhelming and brief stint at the London Stadium, yet he is still to convince an extremely frustrated fanbase that he is the man to progress the club forward.
The man who took Swansea City to two second-tier play-off campaigns before managing Brighton and Chelsea has overseen 25 matches in charge of the side in claret and blue, winning just six of those, now possessing statistics such as a win percentage of just 24%, averaging less than one point-per-game.
The Hammers have won one and lost four of their opening five top-flight encounters by an aggregate score of 13-4, as well as being dumped out of the EFL Cup at the hands of fellow strugglers, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With Potter, unsurprisingly, the main source of frustration and sack calls, it was first reported that Lampard had emerged as a potential replacement for the 50-year-old, some 24 years after he controversially moved from West Ham to Chelsea as a player for £11m.
It was then claimed that McKenna, less than 24 hours after masterminding a 5-0 win for Ipswich over Sheffield United, was invited to the boardroom by David Sullivan to oversee the recent 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Prior to the weekend’s results, it was also claimed that Potter had a maximum of four games to save his job, and having got off to the worst possible start with a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, it remains to be seen if the Solihull-born figure is afforded any more time.
Coventry City and Ipswich Town supporters may still feel nervous despite fresh West Ham claims
The most recent set of developments coming from the Telegraph state that the hierarchy at the London Stadium may opt to appoint an interim manager between now and the end of the season, although such a decision may only cause further discontent on top of fan protests which were evident before West Ham’s defeat in another London derby.
Therefore, those in the West Midlands and Suffolk cannot breathe easily just yet, with Lampard and McKenna’s stocks still increasingly high at this moment in time.
However, there is an argument that neither the ex-England midfielder nor the Northern Irish master tactician could both snub an approach, regardless of the attractions of a quick return to the top-flight in their individual careers.
The atmosphere surrounding West Ham has been extremely toxic ever since the club’s UEFA Conference League triumph back in June 2023, meaning the pressure to turn the tide would immediately be on whoever takes the reins, with the now out-of-work Nuno Espírito Santo also a name linked with the potentially upcoming vacancy.
Therefore, with Lampard and McKenna currently overseeing extremely exciting projects with two talented squads at their respective clubs, it begs the question as to whether they see the Hammers’ current predicament as a positive move.
