Former West Ham striker Tony Cottee believes the Irons are already in a battle for Premier League survival despite the campaign only being four games old.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have failed to get a single point from their opening league fixtures, conceding ten goals in the process, and the ex-Hammers star thinks the next three matches could be crucial to the club’s season:

“Absolutely I am worried it is going to be a battle to stay up. The next three games are absolutely vital.”

“The ironic thing is if they were to get rid of Pellegrini they would be saying ‘We need a Sam Allardyce or David Moyes to come in and steady the ship’, which is what they had in the first place. It is absolutely ridiculous.”

West Ham face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday week, following the international break, and they then host Chelsea and Manchester United at the London Stadium.

Despite investing over £100m in new signings over the summer, the club has so far yet to see any return on their investment.

The club spent £36million on Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson, a club record, while they also shelled out on Toulouse defender Issa Diop (£22m) and Borussia Dortmund’s Andriy Yarmolenko (£17.5m).

Pellegrini has already come in for heavy criticism for the club’s poor start but the club reportedly would have to pay £15m in compensation if they chose to sack the Chilean.