Hammer blow for Grant; Wigan grab lifeline

West Ham manager Avram Grant was sacked minutes after a 3-2 defeat away to Wigan on Sunday saw the London club relegated from the English Premier League.

Senegal striker Demba Ba’s first half double put the Hammers 2-0 up in a match they had to win to set up a chance of a last day reprieve against Sunderland next weekend.

But Wigan, who stayed second bottom, hit back through Charles N’Zogbia’s blistering 57th minute free-kick before substitute Conor Sammon drew the hosts level at the DW Stadium 11 minutes later as West Ham squandered their lead.

N’Zogbia then sealed Wigan’s remarkable recovery in stoppage time when he slid a shot under the body of England goalkeeper Robert Green, who had previously made several fine saves.

Defeat left the Hammers on 33 points, meaning a win against Sunderland would not be enough for them to climb out of the relegation zone.

“The club can confirm that Avram Grant is no longer the manager of West Ham United,” said a statement released on the club website.

“First-team coach Kevin Keen will take charge of the team for the final home match of the season against Sunderland on May 22.”

For Grant, defeat meant he’d overseen his second successive relegation from the Premier League following Portsmouth’s demotion last season.

“At 2-2 we had big chances to score and maybe this is the story of our season,” he told Sky Sports.

“The fans were great. I feel so sorry we couldn’t do the job we wanted to.”

Wigan could yet avoid the drop if they get a draw or better against Stoke and other results go their way.

“We were 2-0 down, deservedly, but then we got that reaction and all the hard work through the (last) 10 months came out,” said proud Wigan manager Roberto Martinez

In all, five clubs were left within a point of each other as they faced a frantic finale to stay in the top flight.

Wigan and Blackpool are in the relegation zone on 39 points. Birmingham, beaten 2-0 by Fulham on Sunday, also have 39 points but are above the bottom three on goal difference alone.

Blackburn and Wolves, on 40 points apiece, are still not assured of avoiding relegation ahead of their meeting at Molineux next weekend.

Brede Hangeland headed in from a fifth minute corner before the central defender doubled Fulham’s lead in the 49th minute.

At the top of the table, Arsenal’s hopes of a second-place finish ended with a match to spare following a 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa as England striker Darren Bent scored twice early in the first half before Robin Van Persie pulled a goal back late on.

Defeat left the Gunners, booed by their own fans, four points adrift of second-placed Chelsea, who earlier Sunday gave their London rivals hope by conceding a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Newcastle.

Arsenal could now miss out on the top three finish needed to guarantee a Champions League group stage spot and avoid the qualifying round, with fourth-placed Manchester City just two points behind with a game in hand.

FA Cup winners City play Stoke at Eastlands on Tuesday in a repeat of Saturday’s Wembley final.

Tottenham moved into pole position for a place in the Europa League after a 2-0 win away to Liverpool moved them a point in front of their rivals for a spot in the second-tier tournament.

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart fired Tottenham into a ninth minute lead with a fierce shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Luka Modric then struck home a 56th-minute penalty which had been controversially awarded by World Cup final referee Howard Webb.

Chelsea had seen their slim hopes of retaining the title ended by champions Manchester United’s 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

But they responded by going ahead as early as the second minute through defender Branislav Ivanovic at Stamford Bridge.

However, Newcastle equalised eight minutes later through Argentina midfielder Jonas Gutierrez.

Chelsea regained the lead seven minutes from time when a mistake by Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, who misjudged a Frank Lampard free-kick, allowed Brazilian defender Alex to head in at the far post.

But Newcastle defender Steven Taylor nodded in from close range shortly before the final whistle.

English Premier League results and standings on Sunday.

Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 2
Birmingham City 0 Fulham 2
Chelsea 2 Newcastle United 2
Liverpool 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Wigan Athletic 3 West Ham United 2

Played on Saturday

Blackburn Rovers 1 Manchester United 1
Blackpool 4 Bolton Wanderers 3
Sunderland 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3
West Bromwich Albion 1 Everton 0

Standings P W D L F A Pts

C1 Manchester United 37 22 11 4 74 35 77
2 Chelsea 37 21 8 8 69 32 71
3 Arsenal 37 19 10 8 70 41 67
-------------------------
4 Manchester City 36 19 8 9 55 33 65
-------------------------
5 Tottenham Hotspur 37 15 14 8 53 45 59
-------------------------
6 Liverpool 37 17 7 13 59 43 58
7 Everton 37 12 15 10 50 45 51
8 Fulham 37 11 15 11 47 41 48
9 Stoke City 36 13 7 16 46 44 46
10 Bolton Wanderers 37 12 10 15 52 54 46
11 West Bromwich Albion 37 12 10 15 53 68 46
12 Newcastle United 37 11 12 14 53 54 45
13 Aston Villa 37 11 12 14 47 59 45
14 Sunderland 37 11 11 15 42 56 44
15 Blackburn Rovers 37 10 10 17 43 57 40
16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 37 11 7 19 44 63 40
17 Birmingham City 37 8 15 14 36 56 39
-------------------------
18 Blackpool 37 10 9 18 53 74 39
19 Wigan Athletic 37 8 15 14 39 61 39
R20 West Ham United 37 7 12 18 43 67 33
-------------------------
C - Champion
R - Relegated
1-3: Champions League / EC I
4: Champions League preliminary round
5: Europa League
18-20: Relegation

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.