West Ham Women announced their decision to part ways with head coach Rehanne Skinner earlier this week. The Hammers find themselves languishing in 11th place with just five points from their opening 11 WSL games.

The former Tottenham head coach joined West Ham back in the summer of 2023, taking over from Paul Konchesky who left the club at the end of the previous campaign.

In her two full campaigns in charge of the Hammers, Skinner guided the club to a 9th place finish in the WSL last season and an 11th place finish in her first season. She also guided the club to the League Cup semi finals last season where they lost to Chelsea, something there is certainly no shame in given the Blues’ cleaned up domestically last season lifting the WSL, the FA Cup and the League Cup.

As the WSL pauses for its winter break, the half way stage of the season is a time for supporters to reflect on their club’s campaign so far. From a West Ham perspective, it is not only the league table that is worrying, the club’s underlying numbers 11 games in make for grim reading.

West Ham have scored just nine goals in the WSL, only Liverpool and Leicester City have scored less. They have also conceded an alarming 24 goals from their opening 11 games, the most of any WSL. Perhaps most damning of all, five points from eleven games represents the Hammers lowest ever points tally at this stage of a WSL season.

In their statement announcing the decision, the club wrote: “Recent results have not  matched expectations and the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary to help improve the team’s position in the Barclays Women’s Super League as soon as possible.”

The club also described the search for Skinner’s successor as having begun. “The process of recruiting a new women’s team Head Coach is underway.”

Skinner departs the club with a 26% win ratio having won 18 of her 69 games in charge of the club.

West Ham’s struggles are clear, whoever succeeds the departing Rehanne Skinner will certainly have a tough job on their hands. It is vital the club’s hierarchy gets this next appointment right. They cannot afford to take a risk and must appoint someone with pedigree, a proven track record and experience at the highest levels of the women’s game.

The Hammers will need someone who can steer them away from trouble and allow supporters to look up the table with optimism rather than over their shoulders with fear and anxiety. Securing their future as a WSL side is of paramount importance for West Ham, particularly with the WSL’s plans to expand to a 14 team league from the 2026/27 season.

Teams will be coming up from the WSL 2, looking to establish themselves as WSL sides and displace those teams hovering around the wrong end of the league table. This next managerial appointment could define whether West Ham’s future remains in the WSL, or whether they slip out of it and end up in the second tier.