AT the foot of the table, from where [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/how-west-hams-transfer-failures-became-their-biggest-wins/) sit looking up towards ‘safety’ with a fair degree of envy, things are getting tense. ‘If only’ thoughts abound – after Nuno’s West Ham side have already dropped fifteen points from winning positions.
This weekend’s _‘bottom-table derbies’_ pit four relegation-threatened sides against each other as Leeds take on Nottingham Forest on Friday before West Ham travel to Burnley the following day, in what could become a pivotal weekend in the Irons’ battle for survival.
Burnley themselves missed the chance to draw within two points of West Ham last night by falling to a 3-0 loss against Sunderland – with new loanee **James Ward-Prowse** an unused substitute.
The exiled West Ham midfielder must have hoped to end his Hammers misery with a fresh start at Burnley – but failed to make an impact on the Clarets manager Scott Parker, who stated after the game:
_“He’s looking alright..He’s had two days training and I don’t think it was right to bring him into that environment tonight….There’s a longer journey for James really, so like I said, he needs to get some football in._
_“We’ve got obviously the cup game coming up as well, but he’s ineligible to play against West Ham, so we’ll get him up to speed.”_
Must have been a huge disappointment for the former England midfielder to fail to get on the pitch at all – he’s been waiting since Graham Potter left West Ham to try and make a positive impact.
Burnley meanwhile remain five points behind the Hammers: A West Ham victory on Saturday will surely close the door on their ‘escape’ chances and would lift the Hammers to within three points of whoever loses the other ‘relegation derby’ on Friday night….