Teddy Sheringham admits there is little reason to be optimistic at West Ham at the moment following a turbulent summer.
The owners have come under intense scrutiny once again in east London after capturing no new arrivals - other than signing Tomas Soucek on a permanent basis following his loan spell - while letting go of highly-rated Grady Diangana.
And the pressure ramped up even further following the club's opening-day 2-0 home defeat against Newcastle at the London Stadium. They now face Arsenal, Wolves, Leicester, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool before October is out.
Sheringham, speaking at Maurice Newman's charity golf day in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital in Essex, told Sportsmail: 'I don't think you can be optimistic at West Ham as a West Ham man at the moment can you. It's going to be tough, it doesn't look like they are investing heavily in players, while letting Diangana go.
'It's not ideal for player morale, supporters morale. It doesn't look great for them at the moment.
'But what there's two and a half weeks of the transfer window still to go, so things can change quickly. If you get in two or three decent players, you make a big signing, such as Bale to Tottenham, everybody's morale is up.
'Things change very very quickly, so it's harsh again but right at this minute, you don't see West Ham being optimistic with what's going on.'
Fans have been furious with the direction West Ham are going in under owners David Sullivan and David Gold and vice-chairman Karren Brady.
Some supporters have supported the GSB (Gold, Sullivan, Brady) Out campaign - with a small group of protestors unfurling anti-ownership banners outside the ground before kick-off against Newcastle.
The club's hierarchy also came in for massive criticism following the decision to sell Diangana for £20million to fellow Premier League outfit West Brom.
Even captain Mark Noble was left seething with the club after the winger was sold to a Premier League rival, explaining that he was 'gutted, angry and sad' on Twitter.
Other players showed their support for Noble with Chelsea target Declan Rice liking his skipper's Tweet while Jack Wilshere also commented on Diangana's Instagram post after sealing his move.
And Sheringham admitted his surprise at Noble for letting his anger be known publicly, but did claim the Hammers skipper has his reasons for expressing his fury.
The former West Ham forward, who netted 30 goals in 86 appearances for the club between 2004-07, said: 'I was quite surprised that Nobes came out and said it to be honest. He has his reasons for coming out and saying it.
'It's very unusual for the captain of the club to come out and criticise as such but by all accounts, the top people at the club took it on board and had a meeting with him, and discussed with him and explained why.
'Who knows in this current climate with coronavirus, money issues. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes for all these clubs. It's a tough change in life, not just in football, so you've got to think about these things.'
Maurice Newman has been raising vital funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for over 50 years. Click HERE to donate.
