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*This article was first published back in April, the newsnow auto regulator decided to re-publish!
We were asked a series of questions by Reuters News Agency regarding the club, about the next match, about the owners, the London Stadium, the season so far, the good and the ugly, and whether David Moyes will remain at the club.

The general consensus is that the Stoke City game is a season defining match, this is especially so given the other remaining matches West Ham have to play, none of them are easy therefore three points against Stoke is regarded as essential.

This is one of those games where the team that scores first will be in the ascendancy, a goal for Stoke early on could 'turn' the crowd. Much depends on Arnoutovic playing against his former club, if the traveling fans don't elect to stay at home and watch the match on TV then ironically their presence will probably spur him on to greater heights as they did when they gave him relentless 'stick' on his return to the bet 365 following his transfer to West Ham from Stoke.

Stoke can definitely pose a threat, as we previously mentioned, should they manage to score the first goal then the London Stadium could become toxic although it is very unlikely that there would be a repeat of the disgraceful scenes that occurred during the 3-0 home defeat by Burnley. If West Ham score first then it would be a completely different scenario that would see the home side probably romp home to a victory.

West Ham are not safe now, however West Bromwich Albion are gone, Huddersfield are in a downward spiral and Palace need to start turning good performances in to victories otherwise they will be sucked in to the drop zone. Swansea's resurgence has ground to a halt so they are not safe. Stoke are next in the vulnerability line and their fate will largely be dictated by their match against West Ham at the London Stadium, defeat will probably condemn them in joining West Brom and one other to Championship football next season.

There are very few positives to take from the season, very few at all! The emergence of Declan Rice from Academy player to the first team has been a welcome positive albeit one generated as a result of a once catastrophic injury list. The arrival of 'Super Mario' has been uplifting as has the general effort shown by the players since the arrival of David Moyes in place of Slaven Billic as manager.

The feeling among most of our members and most Hammers fans in general is one of unrest, if things had gone well this season then the feelgood factor would have over ridden the questions about funding and more importantly what to do with the dreadful eyesore of a stadium that replaced fans beloved Boleyn Ground. Things will be put on the back burner until the battle for Premiership survival is won or lost, but the discontent will not go away. Fans feel cheated, "they were sold a dream and were given a nightmare". Or in the words often sung by visiting supporters "you sold your soul for this **it hole".

Moyes is a strange managerial problem, it is without doubt his arrival was met with much discontent, but he began to rescue the sinking ship successfully until the recent series of three defeats by three goal margins cast a doubt over his ability to keep the club afloat. For Hammers fans they ca find hope in the fact that the teams currently below them all have to play games against fellow strugglers, so essentially they will be taking points off each other. As to whether Moyes would be a popular choice to stay on as manager he is a bit of a 'marmite' character, but many view him as a dour drab manager and would hope for someone with more panache and style, perhaps someone like Slaven Billic? -Ed

West Ham United travel across London to take on Conte's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, the game will be marked by what will be an emotional tribute to Ray Wilkins who sadly passed away this week. These will probably not be ideal circumstances for David Moyes to sanction, the 'bounce' effect of a stadium full of people willing their team on in memory of a 'fallen' player invariably will see the home team prosper. Of course it can work the other way as well, either way there will be a definite edge to the game which is being televised by Sky, a match both teams need to win for different reasons. A loss for West Ham will drag the team back in to the serious areas of relegation whereas defeat for Chelsea will just about ensure they don't even qualify for the Europa League, but maybe that is a cunning plan to avoid what many see as a pointless competition albeit one that has a Champion's League place as it's ultimate reward.

Hammers will be giving late fitness tests to Manu Lanzini and Angelo Ogbonna ahead of another crucial match in Hammers' attempt to avoid the drop, results elsewhere went well meaning even defeat will still see the club stay in a relatively comfortable 14th place, the relative part of that statement is that all the other clubs at the foot of the Premier League are having issues themselves!

Full team sheets will be posted at 3pm - Ed

West Ham produced a superb performance teeming with passion, flair and desire as they sealed victory in a massive relegation six-pointer against Southampton on Saturday. The Hammers are now heavy favourites to beat the drop, while the odds plummeted on the vanquished Saints going down. The win propelled West Ham all the way up to the giddy heights of 14th in the table, and they could even secure a top half finish if they maintain such a high level of performance. But their lead over Southampton is still only five points and, with seven games to go, there is no room for complacency as they could still get sucked back into the relegation scrap.
The fans will have a massive role to play between now and the end of the season, as they can either inspire the team or cause their heads to drop. The mood in the ground on Saturday stood in stark contrast to the toxic atmosphere that accompanied the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Burnley last time out. Before the pitch invasions, West Ham were still in that game, but the protests clearly affected the players, their confidence suffered and Sean Dyche's men capitalised to devastating effect. But this weekend the protests were mainly confined to the pre-game marches, while a semblance of optimism prevailed inside the stadium.
Joao Mario urged fans to continue to "make the difference" heading into the business end of the season. "It was impressive from our supporters today," said the Portuguese midfielder. "I just want to say thank you to them, and let's continue like that for the next home game against Stoke City. I just want them to make the difference in that game, as they did today. All the team wanted to change the situation from the last match here, which we lost, and it was an important phase of the week so we're just happy to get three points today and come up the table."
The fixture list is pretty daunting going forwards - the Hammers still have to contend with away trips to Chelsea, Arsenal, and Leicester, while they host Man City and Everton - so the game at home to Stoke on April 16 is huge. It will be their best chance to get three points between now and the end of the campaign, and it will also be a great opportunity to stick the knife into a relegation rival. Check a review of the different betting sites and you will see that West Brom are all but down and have no hope of survival, while the clubs most likely to join them are Stoke and Huddersfield. Then Southampton are 5/4, Swansea are 6/1, Crystal Palace are 7/1 and the Hammers are all the way out at 11/1.
That looks a little optimistic, given how tough West Ham's run in is, but they have the quality to take points off those teams. Man City should have wrapped up the title by the time they visit east London, so they may field a reserve team as they concentrate on the Champions League. Arsenal have Europa League commitments, while Chelsea are focused on the FA Cup, so there are opportunities to exploit lapses in concentration and effort among the big boys. West Ham can certainly beat the likes of Everton and Leicester, but the job will be much easier if the fans back them. And the big one really is the game against Stoke, which could see the supporters roar the team to safety. Then any protests deemed necessary can take place from a position of safety and security, in an orderly fashion, as supporters demand change. - Ed