Sunday Telegraph football correspondent Jason Burt gives his view on West Ham United's search for a new manager
Jason Burt is the Sunday Telegraph's football correspondent and a columnist for The Daily Telegraph
As the Club continue their search for a new manager to replace Sam Allardyce, who left the Boleyn Ground last month, whufc.com caught up with the Sunday Telegraph's Football Correspondent Jason Burt to get his thoughts on the leading candidates who are being tipped to take over the managerial hot-seat at Upton Park. With the process still ongoing, Burt gives his run-down on what the possible front-runners could bring to the job in east London.
Unai Emery – He is an intense and very organised coach. He has a good record of improving players and is obsessed with video planning. He is very similar to Andre Villas-Boas in that they both have very detailed analysis of the opposition and has a strict organisation.
A good example of his thorough organisation can be seen last season when Sevilla played Fiorentina in the Europa League and he put all his analysis on how they could stop Joaquin and it worked a treat. He even does his own editing and analysis himself.
The players will have a blood test every morning to check on their hydration and oxygen levels. He insists that the players all eat together as a group before they leave the training ground. The players are very loyal to him.
He has shown his ability by helping Sevilla win the Europa League two-years in a row and that is not an easy thing to do.
The only drawback could be the language barrier and his lack of English but if he works as hard as he does with the players, he will learn it very quickly.
West Ham are not going to get Pep Guardiola but they need someone who can make a difference. For me Emery is an interesting choice and is highly rated. He will be able to get the balance right of playing in the Europa League and then back to the Premier League.
Marcelo Bielsa – He is the godfather of modern football and plays amazing attacking football. He has never worked in England but is so highly rated. It would certainly be a rollercoaster ride if he came to England.
I can remember when his Athletic Bilbao side destroyed Manchester United back in 2012 and he demands such high fitness levels from his players.
It shows the ambition that West Ham have got that they want to go for someone who has such an attacking philosophy. It is a key element for the Club and they need to get back into that.
I would sum him up by saying he is so un-predictable as a coach and could even go in and win the league for West Ham.
Bielsa has never worked in England but is so highly rated. It would certainly be a rollercoaster ride if he came to England
Slaven Bilic – He is an interesting character. He had a difficult time in Russia and it would be hard for any coach to go into Turkey and try and get the better of Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
He did very well against the Premier League teams last season knocking Liverpool out of the Europa League and doing very well against Arsenal in the Champions League qualifiers last summer.
He has a lot of charisma and did very well with Croatia. The drawback would be his lack of silverware and can he be a top coach but he would certainly be popular with the fans and knows the club well from his playing days.
Michael Laudrup – He wants to come back to England and it is an advantage for him that he has managed in the Premier League before.
West Ham will want to move up the table as quickly as possible and establish themselves in the top ten especially as they have the demands of playing in the Europa League and if he gets the right tools I'm sure he could do that.
He has certainly got the profile and is a big figure in European football. He won a trophy with Swansea and would be willing to work under the structure that West Ham have. It remains to be seen if he can the Club to the next level.
When it comes to English coaches if this had been two-years ago they could have taken a chance with Eddie Howe. I think Garry Monk falls into a similar category. Swansea had an amazing season last year but the question will be if he can sustain that.
He knows the environment well at Swansea but can he do that at another club?
I think this is a fantastic opportunity for any new manager coming into the club and I genuinely believe that West Ham can break into the top six. The Olympic Stadium will be a game changer for them and they will be knocking hard on the door behind Liverpool and Tottenham.
You cannot under-estimate the attraction of playing in London and you can draw in a lot of people.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
He did very well against the Premier League teams last season knocking Liverpool out of the Europa League and doing very well against Arsenal in the Champions League qualifiers last summer.
He has a lot of charisma and did very well with Croatia. The drawback would be his lack of silverware and can he be a top coach but he would certainly be popular with the fans and knows the club well from his playing days.
Michael Laudrup – He wants to come back to England and it is an advantage for him that he has managed in the Premier League before.
West Ham will want to move up the table as quickly as possible and establish themselves in the top ten especially as they have the demands of playing in the Europa League and if he gets the right tools I'm sure he could do that.
He has certainly got the profile and is a big figure in European football. He won a trophy with Swansea and would be willing to work under the structure that West Ham have. It remains to be seen if he can the Club to the next level.
When it comes to English coaches if this had been two-years ago they could have taken a chance with Eddie Howe. I think Garry Monk falls into a similar category. Swansea had an amazing season last year but the question will be if he can sustain that.
He knows the environment well at Swansea but can he do that at another club?
I think this is a fantastic opportunity for any new manager coming into the club and I genuinely believe that West Ham can break into the top six. The Olympic Stadium will be a game changer for them and they will be knocking hard on the door behind Liverpool and Tottenham.
You cannot under-estimate the attraction of playing in London and you can draw in a lot of people.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United