West Ham United have scheduled a meeting with Sam Allardyce early next week to resolve the manager's future at the club, sources have told ESPN FC.
Allardyce, 60, sees his contract expire this summer with both the coach and the club remaining non-committal about the prospect of him continuing his four-year tenure into next season.
West Ham will play their final match of the Premier League season at Allardyce's former club Newcastle on Sunday, and his planned meeting with joint chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold is set to take place in the days following.
Allardyce's position has been the subject of much speculation in recent months, despite the Hammers still in with a chance of finishing the season in the top half of the Premier League table -- and qualifying for the Europa League via their fair play record.
However, a run of just two wins from their last 15 league games and renewed criticism from the club's fans of Allardyce's tactics mean the season is set to end in anti-climactic fashion.
Allardyce said last week when questioned on his future: "It was always going to be settled at the end of the season. Whether I'm staying or going, that hasn't been decided yet.
"Nearly two years ago when we finished 10th in the Premier League, I signed a contract on May 29, which was probably a good two weeks after the season had finished. At the end of this season we will sit down and negotiate.
"The outcome will be made known to everyone once those negotiations have finished. Speculation about the club not being happy with me or me not being happy with them is bound to happen.
"It depends on the contract. There's a lot of areas to negotiate, not just my contract but the staff, new players and the budget. As well as that it's about the direction we think we're going in,
"We're going in the right direction, it's a question of how fast we want to move. All that needs to be discussed and agreed.''
Napoli boss Rafa Benitez and Real Sociedad manager David Moyes are among those linked with a move to West Ham should Allaryce leave.
The job would be made more attractive by the Hammers' move to London's Olympic Stadium in Stratford in the summer of 2016, which offers the potential for a huge increase in revenue for the East London club.