West Ham United will not rush into trying to replace technical director Tim Steidten with the club yet to decide whether they will hire a new director of football.

Steidten has left the club since the appointment of Graham Potter as head coach and the arrival of Kyle Macaulay as head of recruitment.

Macaulay’s appointment means there is no rush for West Ham to decide whether to add to the club’s football structure and there is nothing thought to be in the pipeline.

At least in the short term, some of Steidten’s responsibilities will be taken on by Macaulay and West Ham also have Mark Noble, who is the club’s sporting director and can help cover for the German’s departure.

Telegraph Sport understands the club have considered the possibility of appointing a director of football at some stage, having already identified potential targets based in England and overseas, but are not committed to doing so.

With the winter transfer window now shut, West Ham will start their behind-the-scenes planning for the summer in a bid to avoid the kind of mistakes that plagued the club over the first half of this season.

West Ham have signed striker Evan Ferguson on loan until the end of the season from Brighton and the club are likely to target a new long-term forward at the end of the season.

Potter is also likely to look to prioritise injecting more energy into his midfield, having recalled James Ward-Prowse from his loan at Nottingham Forest to give him more options for the remainder of the campaign.

West Ham have a weekend off after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa, giving Potter time to do some detailed work with his squad on the training ground.

Potter has already been boosted by the return to fitness of captain Jarrod Bowen, who scored on his comeback from injury in the narrow defeat by Chelsea.