West Ham have announced the reappointment of David Moyes as the club's manager after Manuel Pellegrini was shown the exit door at the London Stadium following another poor result this weekend.
The Irons played host to Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City on Saturday and fell to a 2-1 loss, leaving them 17th in the Premier League and just one point clear of the relegation zone.
A summer of spending preceeded a decent start to the domestic campaign, but recent form forced the board's hand as they now turn to a man who led the club out of the relegation zone during his last stint in charge in 2017-18.
Moyes, who spent seven months in charge of the Hammers before he was replaced by Pellegrini, has signed an 18-month deal to take charge of the first-team again.
“It’s fabulous to be back,” he told the club's website. “It feels great to be home. I’ve missed being here because I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed being around the stadium and I loved being in this part of the world and I missed the club, so I can’t wait to get started.
We are pleased to confirm that David Moyes has returned to the Club as first-team manager. pic.twitter.com/Y2fxo5hTCE
— West Ham United (@WestHam) 29 december 2019
“I'm feeling very proud that I’m back here at West Ham. But I think more importantly I’ll be looking to see what I can do and what I can make improvements to, how we can get some wins with the players and how we can get some quick wins on the field as well.
“I do believe that the squad of players I’ve got here is a better squad of players than when I took over before, so I am looking forward to working with them.
“I think there’s got to be a short-term goal for us just now to get the wins to get us away from the wrong end of the league and what we’re going to do over the next six months, then what we’re going to do over the next period as well. The start is really focusing on the immediate games.”
West Ham won nine of the 31 games they played under Moyes during his previous spell and he has been out of work since leaving the London outfit in the summer of 2018.
His second spell at the helm begins with a home game against Bournemouth on New Year's Day.
"David proved in his short time with the club that he was capable of getting results and we believe that he will start moving the club in the right direction once again," co-chairman David Sullivan said.
“We are delighted to welcome David back – he knows the club well and he built strong relationships during that time which will be crucial for the work that needs to be done going forward.”