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The enforced International break came just t the right or wrong time for West Ham, depending on what happens next? The time has allowed the board to 'consider all their options' with regards to David Moyes continued tenure as manager as well as allowing some of the club's players to go put an 'express themselves' for their teams.

The latter returned mixed fortunes for the club's players with Gianluca Scammacca being the one who missed out the most! Vlad Coufal DID get the chance to impress for the Czech Republic, but AGAINST the orders of the club's doctors and 'Pacman' got rubbish reviews in the Brazilian Press despite providing an assist during the game for which he was so highly criticised.

Sunday's crunch game against Southampton is a REAL SIX POINTER, a term normally reserved for top or bottom of the table games, but this really is a six pointer that could have truly MASSIVE implications, a home win could see Hammers reach the heady heights of 12th place depending on other results, defeat couls send the club into a downward spiral that looks difficult to get out of, so tight is this season's Premier League battle for survival!

Of course many will say that it is virtually inconceivable that the club should find itself embroiled in the dog fight at the bottom of the league when the original expectation, given the well funded new recruitments, was to be battling for a top sixth or seventh place again.

West Ham are the ONLY club in the bottom seven to have NOT sacked their manager, others who have are now well away from danger. It is too late to sack Moyes now, or is it? Defeat on Sunday would provide the 'last chance saloon' moment to oust the dour Scot. However the fixtures following the Saints game are daunting to say the least, so if someone new was brought in they would have to do a hell of a 'fire job' just to keep the club afloat!

We titled this article sack race Sunday, but judging by the MOUNT OF 'COMPETITORS' already out of the picture it appears Dino Moyes may have NO competition at all. Of course the fans will be there in force and are intelligent enough to know that any negativity they feel about the manager can be reserved until after what is after all a crucial game.

It will definitely be a Saints or Sinners day! - Ed

Tonight England face Italy for their European Championship Qualifying Group C game at The Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, a game that promises to feature two if not three Hammers players. Declan Rice lines up for England against Roberto Mancini's Italian team that will most likely feature Emerson Palmieri and Gianluca Scamacca.

Scamacca is in desperate need of 'positive' playing time in front of an enthusiastic International manager who believes in him, as opposed to his experiences at West Ham where he has hardly had a look under David Moyes in since his £35 Million summer transfer from ‎Sassuolo.

Emerson as he likes to be called has come on leaps and bounds since he replaced Aaron Cresswell in Hammers starting line up, the £14 Million left back has slotted in nicely since his move across London from Chelsea and will be looking to test England's defence as he bombs forward.

Facing Hammers Italian duo will be their club captain Declan Rice, who has come in for severe criticism from yet another pundit who is green with envy of today's players because they earn more in a month than they did in a year when they played! Grame Souness and Roy Keane have both had their 'little digs' regarding Declan, the envious twosome should perhaps look more to themselves when it comes to their broadcasting presentation, which is essentially to trash current day players, than picking on players who are too polite to their elders to call them out!

Dino Moyes will be hoping his players don't get injured during the game, whereas Hammers fans will watch with delight as they will be able to see their players perform free of 'Dino's' rigid discipline for once. Back in the day, International games were rather boring for Iron's fans because the club had very few International players, now it is very different.

Hammers have a dozen players representing their various countries, which is a good old chunk of the squad. They are good enough to be selected by the managers of their countries and yet struggle to get game time under Moyes, funny that isn't it? Well it would be funny if it wasn't a painful example of how disconnected and disenfranchised they are domestically as opposed to Internationally.

Hopefully they will all return injury free, perhaps 'Moyes might actually be inspired when he sees his players playing with a freedom and commitment they find difficult to do with him as their coach, you never know, he might even start to use them properly! - LN

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West Ham will 'enjoy' a break from their Premier League survival scrap this weekend because the game against Manchester City has been postponed due to City's Cup endeavours. However any joy will be relatively short lived because after this weekend is the International break during which many of Dino Moyes' team will be off representing their respective nations.

On their return Hammers players will face an April Fool's run of fixtures of what might be labelled as the 'month from hell'! During which, unless there is some serious rescheduling, the club play on: April 2nd, April 5th, April 8th, April 13th, April 16th, April 20th, April 22nd and April 26th!

Eight games in a month might not seem excessive, but for a team that has only just finally managed to have a full squad to choose from since the season began it is a BIG ask. Actually it is a MASSIVE ask! But Dino HAS got what in West Ham terms is a massive squad, compared to teams of the past.

Bare bones there ain't, but a bunch of relatively disparate players there is! Moyes' relentless 'Stalinesque' purge of any players who exhibit individual skills has left him virtually devoid of the creativity that will be required if he is to navigate a path away from the Championship. His single mindedness has almost left him bereft of any glimmer of hope, fortunately players like Pacman (Lucas Paqueta) and when he is finally unleashed Gianluca Scamacca, along with the youth players who haven't had their creativity sucked from them and class players like Alphonse Areola, don't do "Yes Sir"!

Moyes can rant all day long about numbers and stats, but it will be passion that will see the club through if it survives. Ask Mark Noble what is important during troubled times like these, you need to know that the man next to you will stand up and be counted and NOT start speaking to his agent about an early exit!

Eight games in 24 days, one game every three days....thank you FA for doing FA for clubs outside of the top four! - Ed