5 realistic replacements for Slaven Bilic at West Ham United

West Ham’s last-gasp 1-0 victory on Saturday over Swansea City in a tight game may well have saved Slaven Bilic’s job. The win gave the Hammers a much-needed three points and moved them up to 15th in the Premier League, taking some of the pressure off the Croatian manager after a run of bad results had the side in some early trouble.

Next up for the Hammers are three fellow strugglers – Burnley, Brighton and Crystal Palace – but November sees them face off with tougher foes in the form of Liverpool, Watford and Leicester City. A handful of losses could see Bilic’s head on the chopping block for sure. But if he does go, who could come in to replace him at the London Stadium?

Sure, Hammers fans would love Mourinho or Guardiola but realistically that sort of move wouldn’t happen. Here are five managers, though, who could be realistic choices for West Ham should they choose to dispense with Bilic.

#1 Walter Mazzarri

Walter Mazzarri was surprisingly fired by Watford after a solid season

Italy’s Walter Mazzarri is currently out of a job after being curiously fired by Watford at the end of last season, but he could be the type of manager that West Ham could call upon should Bilic face the axe.

It wasn’t like he did a bad job at Watford, after all – sure, they seem improved this season under Marco Silva, but Mazzarri still kept the Hornets in the Premier League pretty comfortably, and also managed to pull off some impressive results, beating Manchester United 3-1 and Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates, for instance.

Prior to his short tenure at Watford, Mazzarri saw some notable success in Italy, managing the likes of Sampdoria, Napoli and Inter Milan. His time as Napoli manage was most impressive, as he led them into the Champions League within two seasons at the club, and guided them to their first trophy in over 20 years, their first since the time of Diego Maradona, in the form of the 2012 Coppa Italia. He left Napoli following a 2nd place finish in Serie A, again their best one in over 20 years.

Admittedly, his time at Inter Milan was largely a failure, but it’s his run at Napoli that might intrigue West Ham – during his time there Mazzarri gained a reputation as a manager who loved to play high-octane attacking football, making the most of talents such as Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik.

West Ham’s fans are renowned for always wishing their side to play attractive, attacking football, and Mazzarri’s Napoli fit that mould to a tee. If he took over West Ham and got them playing that way, he’d become a hero to the Hammers for sure.

#2 Paulo Sousa

Paulo Sousa would command tremendous respect due to his playing career

A former Portuguese international who won Serie A with Juventus and the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, Sousa has already had experience in the world of English management, although it did come in the Championship rather than the Premier League.

Sandwiched between unsuccessful runs at QPR and Leicester City, Sousa had a remarkable 2009/10 season at Swansea City as he led a pre-Premier League Swans outfit to their highest league finish for 27 years to that point – 7th in the Championship.

Since leaving England after his Leicester tenure ended in October 2010, Sousa has proven himself further as an up-and-coming manager, winning two cups with Hungarian side Videoton, the Israeli league with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and the Swiss league with Basel. Most recently, he managed Italian Serie A side Fiorentina for two seasons, finishing 5th and then 8th in the league before being relieved of his duties.

While it’s true that Sousa’s reign as Fiorentina boss wasn’t overly successful – in the season before his arrival they finished 4th, a place above where he took them to – it gave the Portuguese boss more valuable experience and a man as well travelled – and well respected due to his illustrious playing career – could be tempting for a side like West Ham. His prior experience in England means he wouldn’t need to learn a thing about the culture.

The Premier League would be a big step up but it could be an opportunity for Sousa to really make a name for himself as a manager.

#3 Claude Puel

Claude Puel may have been a victim of unfair expectations at Southampton

Okay, so it’s definitely true that Frenchman Claude Puel’s run at Southampton didn’t exactly see the Saints play the world’s most attractive style of football. That, if anything, was the main reason that Saints fans didn’t shed many tears when he was surprisingly fired in the summer. But in reality, he didn’t do a bad job at all.

Puel guided Southampton to a very respectable 8th place Premier League finish, and even took them to a cup final – the 2017 League Cup, which was eventually lost to Manchester United. Puel’s side didn’t collect as many points as Southampton did under Ronald Koeman in 2015/16, but that season was also markedly weaker in terms of overall league strength than 2016/17.

Puel was brought to Southampton partly due to his reputation for helping young players improve their game, and there can be no denying that he succeeded in that area – the likes of Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse and Oriel Romeu had their best seasons yet under the Frenchman. And that was of course after selling Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane, two of the Saints’ best players.

Prior to his time at Southampton, Puel proved he’s capable of leading a team to a trophy by winning France’s Ligue 1 with Monaco, back in 1999/00. He also led Lyon to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2009/10, a first for the club and a massive achievement given the strength of the competition his side faced.

At West Ham, Puel would be working with a relatively solid squad including the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart and Andy Carroll – there’s no reason why he couldn’t do as well there as he did at Southampton – perhaps with more realistic expectations.

#4 Nigel Pearson

Nigel Pearson put the pieces into place for Leicester's remarkable Premier League win

Okay, so Pearson isn’t technically available right now as he’s managing Belgian second division side OH Leuven, but let’s be frank, if a side like West Ham came in for him there’s no question he’d probably jump at the opportunity to have another crack at Premier League success. And despite some controversial moments in his managerial career, few would try to argue that Pearson doesn’t warrant another go-around.

While he hasn’t won any top-level trophies as a manager, his achievements during his two runs at Leicester City suggest he’s a very good manager – 2008/09 saw them win League One at a canter, racking up a ludicrous tally of 96 points, and he only left the club initially due to a toxic relationship with then-chairman Milan Mandaric.

When he returned to the Foxes in November 2011 he immediately improved their form, and by 2013/14 he’d led them to the Championship title and back into the Premier League.

Leicester fired Pearson with some controversy in the summer of 2015, but it’s been claimed by many that he laid the pieces into place for their remarkable 2015/16 Premier League win – after all, it was Pearson who signed the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, the players who starred in that title-winning season. Since leaving Leicester, the only job in England Pearson has taken was a strange one at Derby County that ended with him being fired after disagreements with their chairman over the use of drones during training.

With West Ham’s executives David Sullivan and David Gold being controversial characters themselves, appointing a man like Pearson who quite often courts controversy would be risky for sure, but could he do a good job at the London Stadium? Judging by his record, it’s likely.

#5 Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce might not be too popular, but he's certainly effective

This one sounds pretty crazy as of course, ‘Big Sam’ is rumoured to be in retirement following his shock resignation from Crystal Palace at the end of last season. That followed his incredibly controversial and short run as England manager, a run that ended after just one game following a very questionable interview with undercover journalists.

And to add to that, Allardyce has been at West Ham before, and his run ended acrimoniously – he left by mutual consent after some fans turned on him due to his supposedly unattractive style of football, even labelling him ‘Big Sham’.

The bottom line, though? Regardless of how you feel about his style of football, Big Sam is a fantastic manager who’s proven himself time and time again, particularly at clubs who are struggling for success.

You only have to look at what he did at Sunderland in 2015/16 – he saved them after a horrific start left them with just three points from their first eight games. And at Crystal Palace last season he performed another miracle, guiding them to a 14th place finish despite losing eight of their first thirteen league games.

Wins over Chelsea and Arsenal – two of West Ham’s London rivals – were the highlights of Sam’s time at Selhurst Park. And while appointing him at West Ham again probably wouldn’t be a popular decision with the Hammers fans, if the club find themselves in trouble again and have to fire Bilic, then there’s probably no better free agent – assuming he’d be willing to do the job – out there to save the club.