Newly installed West Ham United manager David Moyes has moved to dampen expectations at the club, targeting relegation by Christmas.

The former Everton, Man Utd and Sunderland boss started his Irons reign with a 2-0 defeat at Watford, falling just short of the 3-0 defeat he predicted against Mark Lawrenson on the BBC website.

And he has now challenged his players to get the club relegated over the festive period.

He told Football Burp: “It will take some doing, don’t get me wrong, but we’ve got a lot of big players not performing so I’m confident.

“With any luck the boys who run the Championship will let us in for the second half of their season so we can get relegated from that and be a League One side by May.

“I can see a time within the next five years when West Ham doesn’t even exist. That’s what I’m calling the ‘best case scenario’.”