David Moyes and his West Ham coaches fear they will be sacked if Sunday’s relegation showdown with Premier League bottom side Southampton ends in defeat.
Contacts close to the staff have revealed their concerns, particularly if supporters turn on the manager at the London Stadium this weekend.
There are worries that the vitriol would sway chairman David Sullivan into making a decision, despite his insistence that he trusts Moyes and his team to get out of their sticky situation.
West Ham are 18th in the table, a point from safety, having won just two of their last 15 league games.
Sullivan, 74, is likely to attend Sunday’s make-or-break match and has resisted bowing to a growing tide of fans calling for change.
Moyes will speak at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon and, as has been the theme of previous briefings, the manager is likely to call on his players to stand up to the challenge.
West Ham face three games in seven days against Southampton, Newcastle and Fulham.
Their run in the Europa Conference League, in which they have won all 10 of their games en route to next month’s quarter-final against Gent, has helped Moyes considerably.
The Hammers are favourites to win that competition, and if they do, will qualify for next season’s Europa League.
But the Premier League remains the priority. If Bournemouth pick up a result against Fulham on Saturday, defeat by Southampton would leave West Ham bottom of the table, having finished seventh last season.
Sportsmail has previously revealed that former Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Everton and Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez is interested in the Hammers job if it becomes available.