West Ham result is pivotal for teetering Sunderland boss

His bags were already packed at the end of last season, then he was cajoled into unpacking them, and now it looks as if they may be packed again, as rumours intensify that Dick Advocaat is preparing to quit as Sunderland boss.

In a stormy pre-match press conference ahead of Sunderland’s next match at home to West Ham, Advocaat became increasingly irritated by reporters questioning him over his immediate future at the club, before exiting the debrief prematurely.

According to the Guardian, breaking point was reached following a request to clarify whether he intended still to be the club’s coach on Monday morning. “I will not give you an answer on whether I’ll be the manager, if I’m not then I will not be sitting here,” said Advocaat.

Prior to departing the room early however, Advocaat had insisted that he was still the “best man for the job”, whilst consistently deflecting many other direct questions about the future of his tenure.

Along with his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers, the Dutchman, now priced as 1/4 favourite, has been right at the front of the betting to be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season following a dire start to the campaign at the Stadium of Light.

One thing is for sure, results on the pitch must improve dramatically otherwise the board and the fans that begged last season’s saviour to stay on Wearside, will be pushing for his departure themselves.

The winless Black Cats are rooted to the foot of the table on two points after seven matches and welcome a West Ham side who have defeated Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in their first three away games.

Should Slaven Bilic’s men make it four from four on their travels, priced at 7/5 with Ladbrokes, then Advocaat’s position will become even more scrutinised.

A 21/10-rated win however, would be monumental for the Dutchman and the club heading into the international break and may see that suitcase unpacked for a second time.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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