Slaven Bilic cannot win the battle with West Ham’s owners, writes Tony Evans

London Stadium could witness another titanic clash tonight. No, not West Ham versus Huddersfield. Although the match has much to recommend it, what happens on the pitch is a sideshow. The real action is going on elsewhere.

On the offensive are David Gold and David Sullivan. The twin strike force of West Ham co-chairmen are a real handful. In defence, Slaven Bilic is battling manfully. The manager knows it is a fight he cannot win but the Croat can handle himself. The 49-year-old has the sympathy of most of the fans. That rapport will be tested tonight if West Ham put in another abject performance.

The relationship between Bilic and the owners has been rocky for some time. It has deteriorated markedly after an incoherent transfer window.

It looked in July that the club had done well in the market. Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic bolstered the forward line, Pablo Zabaleta brought experience to the defence and bringing Joe Hart on loan upgraded the goalkeeping position. It was not enough.

It became apparent as soon as the campaign kicked off that the squad needed more recruits if West Ham were to avoid a season of struggle. The most obvious area of need was in midfield. The collapse of a move for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho has been the catalyst for what could be the final showdown between Gold and Sullivan and their manager.

Gold upped the ante while the transfer window was still open. Before the game against Newcastle, the co-chairman tweeted: “Slaven is taking a very strong squad to Newcastle.”

Even allowing for Twitter’s 140 character oversimplification, “very strong” seemed a bizarre assessment.

They had conceded seven goals in their first two League games and scored two. “Dangerously fragile” might have been a more realistic verdict. Yet the implication was clear. The squad was good enough, now it was down to management. The Hammers lost 3-0.

When the window shut, Sullivan weighed in. “Overall, Slaven is happy with the business we have done,” he declared on the club’s website. Then came the bombshell. “Grzegorz Krychowiak and Renato Sanches were both offered to the manager… but he told us he was happy with the squad.”

The blame game was well and truly on and Sullivan was effectively saying to the supporters: “Don’t blame us.”

​Bilic has been equally ready to apportion responsibility. He disputes the co-chairman’s version of the rejection of Krychowiak and Sanches and intimated the failure to secure Carvalho - his main target - was down to a reluctance to spend money.

It is clear that there is a disconnect between manager and board. Bilic was far from the club’s top choice when he took the job in 2015 and, even in his first, uplifting season, there was a sense that he was not quite the big name Gold and Sullivan wanted. Last December, after the 5-1 defeat by Arsenal, West Ham were one point above the relegation zone.

Had the team not beaten Burnley and Hull in the next two home games then Bilic would have been gone by Christmas. West Ham emissaries were in contact with potential replacements.

There is only one winner in this struggle. Bilic has probably never had the respect he deserves from his employers. Even if his team are victorious tonight, time appears to be running out. To claw themselves out of it, West Ham need the manager and the board to work together.

Something has to change and it won’t be Gold and Sullivan.