West Ham United have been hit by a double blow in the last 24 hours.
Defeat at Newcastle United was preceded by reports in the London Evening Standard that defensive coach Wally Downes is wanted by Crystal Palace.
Downes could be heading back to Crystal Palace under his old boss Steve Coppell as the club look for a new management team after sacking George Burley.
With Coppell likely to be offered overall control of football matters at the Championship strugglers, the board are considering bringing in Downes to work under him.
Downes is revelling in his new role as defence coach with West Ham but is understood to want another crack at the manager's job, having had two seasons in charge at Brentford before he was axed in 2004.