West Ham’s defeat by Liverpool at Anfield today has left manager Sam Allardyce in precisely the same position as he was before the game!

Despite all the abuse and bad language floating around on Twitter towards him and those who give their views for and against, no serious discussion on his position will take place until after the Sunderland match.

We never expected anything away from Anfield so nothing has changed.

And the manager was justified in declaring afterwards: The sickener for us was the way we conceded the first goal.

“We gave it a good go, but then the third goal killed us off. Nothing seems to be going for us at the moment.”

I think he’s saying we were brave losers which is of no comfort or use whatsoever. Only points matter at this moment – that’s the point, the whole point and nothing but the point!

For me the most telling moment of the afternoon was the sending off of  Kevin Nolan because that, more than anything else, showed that the pressure is now far beyond the usual levels.

Nolan is the manager’s first lieutenant on the pitch and  in the dressing room. He is the man Allardyce leans on more than any other.

So when he  explodes, produces a reckless challenge and is sent off, you can assume that he understands how serious things have become for his man.

That one challenge told us more than a million Allardyce words. He is under intense pressure.

This time next week  Sunderland and Gus Poyet arrive at our place needing a result just as badly as us.

That game – with all the pressure currently being generated on our manager – could be as difficult as today’s at Anfield. These truly are the most serious days imaginable for him.

Should we fail to beat Sunderland I really believe it’s over for him. If we do his life span looks limited anyway with matches against Spurs, Man United and Arsenal coming up.

Contrary to the opinion of many on Twitter and elsewhere, I am not an Allardyce hater. I am deeply grateful for what he did last season and before that.

But something went badly wrong back in the summer and some of us feared for his and the team’s season when we were left with no Andy Carroll and no second striker.

I may have got this completely wrong but I can’t see him as manager of this club for a whole lot longer.

Where they go for a replacement God alone knows if my scenario unfolds but Slaven Bilic (above) would be great if he could be bought out of his Beskitas contract or Roberto Di Matteo – who of course remains on mega dough from Chelsea.

It’s a tough old call and I wouldn’t be averse to Glenn Hoddle until the end of the season and look again!