Former England defender Danny Mills believes there is a disconnect between what the West Ham United board will consider a successful season and what the club's fans believe is acceptable.
West Ham were keen to make a splash in their first season at the London Stadium and the club's owners chased a big-name striker to put the icing on the cake of the move.
But the Hammers ended up signing Simone Zaza, who flopped, from Juventus and have spent most of the campaign worrying about the threat of relegation rather than looking upwards.
Mills feels boss Slaven Bilic has had to deal with the move to the new stadium and the loss of Dimitri Payet in controversial circumstances, meaning he thinks all things considered they have been solid.
But what the board consider acceptable and the fans consider acceptable is different, Mills believes.
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"I think that [whether the season is judged as a standalone season and a one-off] depends on whether you talk to the owners and the club board members or the fans – the two don't often correlate to each other very well", he said on Sky Sports News HQ.
"I think the move to the new stadium has been disruptive, certainly losing Payet the way that they did wasn't condusive to a good season.
"I think they've been solid this season. Yes, there have been some disappointing results and performances, but I think they will give him [Bilic] the option to go again next year."
Mills however firmly believes next term the club's board will set lofty targets for Bilic.
"That will be when the pressure starts to come.
"They will say 'look, we need to start seeing better performances, more consistent performances next season and we'd like to see West Ham challenging for the top eight next year", Mills added.
West Ham currently sit a lowly 14th in the Premier League table and eight points clear of the relegation zone.
