West Ham manager David Moyes says he has “no doubt” he retains the backing of the club’s board despite being thrashed 5-1 at home by Newcastle.
The defeat on Wednesday left Moyes’ side 15th, outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.
This season 13 Premier League managers have left their jobs, but Moyes insists he still has support from the club.
“They are behind me [the board], but if you lose badly like that as a manager you’re always in danger,” he said.
The overwhelming majority of West Ham fans had left before the full-time whistle at London Stadium, and those who remained booed loudly.
Moyes said he understood the displeasure of supporters, telling Match of the Day: “I would have left as well, but the players were working as hard as they could, their effort was fantastic.”
The Hammers were undone by poor defending in the first half, with Callum Wilson able to head in Newcastle’s opener unmarked from 12 yards before Joelinton broke the offside trap to double the lead inside 15 minutes.
In the second half individual errors cost West Ham, with Nayef Aguerd and Lukasz Fabianski both responsible for goals before Joelinton added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time.
“I’m not sure the score is what it should have been, it was down to individual big mistakes,” Moyes told Match of the Day.
“We had done a lot of things which warranted goals before half-time, could have scored but we didn’t.”
West Ham had never lost a game against a non ‘big six’ team at London Stadium by more than a three-goal margin, and the defeat leaves them level on 27 points with Everton, Nottingham Forest and 18th-placed Bournemouth.
Moyes saw his team concede five goals in a Premier League home defeat for just the second time, after his Everton side lost 6-1 against Arsenal in August 2009.
West Ham captain Declan Rice backed his manager though, and said there is still plenty of spirit and belief among Hammers players that they can avoid relegation.
Rice told Sky Sports: “I love working with the manager, so do the players, how he is as a man, he is great with us.
“Fans voice their opinions, they want to see results and performances. It is tough, you have to block out the noise, as captain I have to keep the boys on it.
“I’ve been down in a relegation fight at West Ham before and there has been negativity, but there is not that with this group of boys.”
West Ham travel to Fulham on Saturday for their next Premier League game, before the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final away to Gent.
