Jamie Carragher tears into West Ham and fears club are in for relegation battle: 'It always feels as if Slaven Bilic is one game away from a crisis'

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Jamie Carragher believes West Ham are in for a relegation battle this season.

The former Liverpool defender sees parallels between the Hammers and teams who have suffered the drop such as QPR, Sunderland and Aston Villa in recent seasons.

Carragher told Sky Sports Monday Night Football: 'Crystal Palace battered them really, I mean they were lucky to get a point. 

Jamie Carragher pulled no punches in his assessment of West Ham's survival chances 

West Ham conceded a last minute equaliser against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park 

'There's a lot of teams near the bottom of the league and you can make a case for them not going down but I'm struggling with West Ham. 

'They are getting a little bit close, too close for comfort to teams we've actually slaughtered over these last few years, your Sunderland's, your QPRs when you've watched them and it's really poor. 

'They are the one team I would massively worry about in terms of relegation because it doesn't look like there's much there.

Carragher added that behind the scenes there doesn't appear to be a cohesive recruitment policy, which is adding to the problems. 

'At that club there's always a problem, you haven't got a clue who is buying players. It looks a bit of a shambles behind the scenes at times. And it always feels as though Slaven Bilic is only one game away from a crisis.'

His punditry partner Gary Neville offered his own thoughts and concurred with Carragher's assessment. 

Carragher feels there is a lack of fight and effort within the West Ham side this season

'When you see this and then point back to QPR, Sunderland, Aston Villa, they sort of make you sick to the pit of your stomach because they're privileged to play football and the idea that you just jog back, you don't run back, the manager is fighting for his job, the fans are there, it's unbelievable,' Neville said. 

Neville was referring to the late equaliser conceded by the Hammers at Selhurst Park where a number of players were caught up the pitch looking for a third goal but failed to track back. 

Wilfried Zaha went on to score with almost the final kick of the game as the defence was exposed. 

West Ham host Liverpool in Saturday's late kick-off and find themselves in 16th, hovering marginally above the relegation zone.  

Gary Neville also drew comparisons between the Hammers and recently relegated sides