After three consecutive league defeats the last thing West Ham players, fans and staff will want is a clash with in form London rivals Chelsea, but that is the task that they face after the international break. If they lose this game they will be firmly rooted to the bottom of the table with the prospect of a relegation battle starring them in the face.

When Avram Grant took over in the summer a fresh sense of optimism surrounded Upton Park, David Gold and David Sullivan had promised fans that no top players would leave and the prospect of new arrivals excited fans Just three games into the new season and this optimism has quickly vanished. While no top players have left yet they may be hoping a move comes their way before tomorrow’s transfer deadline. Confidence is low within the team as you would expect and at the moment they look like a team with a real lack of quality. Robert Green seems to be finding it hard to put his disastrous World Cup behind him, while Carlton Cole has so far failed to show the form he found last season.

While the Hammers opening fixtures haven’t been the easiest, it is the manor of the defeats that will be worrying fans. Beaten convincingly in all three games, it seems that once they go a behind heads drop immediately. West Ham’s saving grace this year could be that there are other clubs struggling with sides like Wigan, Blackpool and West Brom likely to be a in the relegation mix come the end of the season. Unfortunately for West Ham all three of those teams have already picked up points. West Ham need to hope that Carlton Cole and Scott Parker are still at Upton Park this time tomorrow and then maybe just maybe they will have enough to avoid the drop. Do you think West Ham have enough to survive in the Premier League?

Alan Shearer needs all the good luck he can find in the dying weeks of Newcastle United’s disaster of a season. And after his 69th minute substitution of Michael Owen for Obafemi Martins, fortune smiled on the Magpies’ former number nine when their current number nine found the back of the net almost immediately after being subbed into the match.

Less than a minute after running onto the pitch, Martins turned his marker in the box and firmly struck the ball while losing his own footing. The shot sailed past Boro’s Brad Jones putting Newcastle ahead in yesterday’s pivotal relegation-battle-upon-Tyne.

Commentators were questioning Shearer’s decision to remove Owen for Martins since the latter’s fitness was in doubt. But any uncertainty over Shearer’s managerial instincts were brushed aside with Martins’s quick, brilliant goal.

The 50,000 plus spectators at St. James Park had already seen two goals in the first half.

The opener was a bizarre Habib Beye third-minute own goal after Boro’s Tuncay Sanli charged into the box. Tuncay took credit for the goal by holding his finger to his mouth to shush the home crowd. But a park full of Geordies would not be silenced and the noise grew three minutes later when Mark Vidika’s shot rattled off the post. Steven Taylor couldn’t get the rebound on target. Their fears were assuaged after a further three minutes, when Taylor equalized off Danny Guthrie’s corner kick. A perfect header to make the crowd roar and lift team spirits.

Newcastle dominated most of the first half, and had another serious look at goal in the 26th minute when Mark Viduka fired a brilliant cross in from out left. Michael Owen connected and put a good header on target, but Jones was able to push it over.

Tension mounted before half-time with Nicky Butt and Roberth Huth picking up yellow cards.

In the second half, Middlesbrough’s youthfulness and vitality (largely channeled through Marvin Emnes) threatened to undo the home side. Yesterday marked Emne’s first league start for Boro and it was an impressive runout indeed. He looked the most likely to earn a second goal for the visitors, causing many problems for United’s back line.

But when Martins came on in substitution, the flow of the match quickly turned in Newcastle’s favor and fifteen minutes later another substitute, Peter Lovenkrands, put the match out of reach after sending home a cross from Kevin Nolan.

Newcastle are far from danger yet, but they’ve clawed their way above Hull City (on goal differential) and with another home match this weekend against Fulham, they’ll have all the belief that they can get a stronger foothold on survival.

The Magpie predicament will rely on other sides slipping as much as anything. Middlesbrough still must face Villa at home and West Ham away. Hull and Sunderland visit Bolton and Portsmouth respectively before hosting two giants: Manchester United and Chelsea FC.

If Newcastle can beat Fulham, they may have done enough to stay up and yesterday’s win will be remembered as the first big step away from life in the Coca-Cola Championship League.

Newcastle supporters have long been clamoring for Alan Shearer to take over managing the club. Their wish came true weeks ago. But today was the first day Shearer was able to make them believe he can save them from falling out of the top flight.

With 24 more points available in the 2008-2009 season, I hesitate to say that next weekend’s match with Stoke City is a must-win for West Bromwich Albion for its hopes for avoiding the drop.

But it really is.

The Baggies are rooted to the bottom of the table with 24 points with eight matches to go and any hopes for survival start at The Hawthorns on April 4 against the Potters.

Why is this match so important? It’s one of the best chances at three points left on the schedule.

West Brom’s remaining games

• April 4 – Stoke City
• April 11 – at Portsmouth
• April 18 – at Manchester City
• April 25- Sunderland
• May 2 – at Tottenham 
• May 9 - Wigan
• May 16 – Liverpool
• May 24 – at Blackburn Rovers

As you can see, the push for the finish line is not exactly littered with chances for West Brom. But a win against Stoke – and it would be the first in six years – would serve as a confidence booster ahead of a relegation six-pointer at Fratton Park against Pompey the following weekend.

Midfielder Robert Koren hasn’t given up on his team’s chances of survival, telling the official team Web site on Tuesday that, “the next game against Stoke is very important. If we can get three points I think the fight will be open again.”

The beauty of the Premier League is that there are always three distinct races within the table, and after 23 rounds of this Premier League season, none of those races are decided.

In the race for first place, only two points separate top-of-the-table Manchester United from Liverpool and Chelsea, while Aston Villa is only three points off the lead. Villa, however, is five points ahead of a struggling Arsenal side in the battle for the fourth place and the final Champions League bid. Only a late goal by Robin Van Persie at Goodison park kept Arsenal five points ahead of Everton for the UEFA Cu… *ahem* Europa League bid.

The real story, however, is the relegation battle, and it would appear this battle is currently being fought by everyone else in the league.

Only five points separates 11th place from 18th place, and the bottom eight clubs are within three points of each other. One win could lift any of the current cellar dwellers three places out of the drop zone, and a couple of losses could put anyone in bottom half of the table in jeopardy.

Even 1oth-place Hull City, the early season Cinderellas, are only 6 points clear and not out of the woods yet. Perhaps this is why Phil Brown made his team sit outside during halftime at Manchester City. He knows as well as anyone that a few more 4-0 halves could put his club right next to West Brom and Stoke City, Hull’s promotion partners, in the drop zone.

Manchester City, meanwhile, is only a point ahead of Hull, and it only took them three wins out of four to get there from 17th place. Plus, if West Ham is unable to find a buyer and goes into administration, 10 points will be deducted from their total, putting them only one point clear of the drop. So that’s as many as 13 clubs out of 2o in danger of being relegated this year.

The end result is that half this weekend’s matches are relegation six-pointers:

• Middlesbrough v. Blackburn
• Bolton v. Tottenham Hotspur
• Fulham v. Portsmouth
• Hull v. West Brom
• Newcastle v. Sunderland

This probably won’t be the last time this season that we see five relegation six-pointers in one weekend. If Man City slips or if West Ham goes into administration, we could easily see six relegation six-pointers in one weekend.

So if you think you can pick which three clubs will fall back into the fizzy drink mixer at season’s end, chances are you’ll be wrong. This battle is as wide open as it’s ever been, and every goal and every victory will matter that much more. It does beg the question, though — would the Premier League still be as exciting if 13 clubs had a shot at the Champions League right now?