The pressure on Graham Potter cranked up further after West Ham suffered a 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace to extend their winless home run.
The Hammers have not won at the London Stadium since February, when they beat struggling Leicester 2-0 a month into Potter’s reign.
Seven months on, and West Ham’s struggles at home are symptomatic of the malaise that has set in at a club beset with supporter unrest amid a lack of optimism on the pitch.
West Ham fans gathered before kick-off to protest against the club’s board, with calls for chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady to step down intensifying.
However, despite growing tensions, there was unanimous support for the team as they entered the pitch.
That togetherness, though, quickly dissipated as Palace, with Adam Wharton back after injury, enjoyed the better of a drab first half before taking the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header.
Repeated mistakes have been the undoing of West Ham this season, and they were once again made to pay from a corner as Mateta reacted quickest to head home after Marc Guehi's header came back off the crossbar.
Mateta’s 37th-minute effort was the seventh goal West Ham have conceded from corners this season, and the sixth headed goal.
It was an even contest before Palace took the lead, but with the Eagles racking up seven corners in the opening 45 minutes, it felt like West Ham were destined to be punished eventually.
A chorus of boos met the half-time whistle, with West Ham a goal down and struggling for inspiration, but Jarrod Bowen came to his side’s rescue four minutes after the break as he headed home El Hadji Malick Diouf’s corner.
The pair are among the few players who can hold their heads high in the West Ham squad right now, and Bowen’s equaliser sparked the hosts into life.
It looked as though Potter’s half-time team talk had turned the game in West Ham’s favour, but Palace struck back, restoring their lead through Tyrick Mitchell’s expertly-timed volley.
It was a cruel, but not entirely unexpected blow for West Ham, caught cold from another cross into the area. From all the optimism of Bowen’s equaliser, came a familiar sinking feeling.
Potter had influenced the game, put West Ham in the ascendancy, and still they found themselves behind.
Potter was name-checked in West Ham’s official statement, responding to the Fan Advisory Board’s (FAB) vote of no confidence in the board, as the man to lead the club forward.
Following this latest defeat, though, the pressure on the West Ham boss is reaching almost intolerable levels.
