15 hours ago
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West Ham are losing faith in Nuno Espírito Santo’s ability to save them from relegation and unhappy with their manager embracing Nottingham Forest players on the pitch after losing to his former side on Monday.
Nuno, fired by Forest last September, finds his position under increasing threat after 10 games without a win. West Ham remain reluctant to make their second sacking of the season but are increasingly unimpressed with the Portuguese’s tactics and did not like his demeanour after their latest defeat.
Figures within the club were dismayed to see Nuno smiling at full-time and embracing some of his old players. Nuno was pictured with players including Morato and Morgan Gibbs-White, whose late winner left West Ham seven points behind 17th-placed Forest. Nuno had looked aghast when Forest, who won 2-1 after trailing at half-time, were awarded their penalty after a VAR review.
Although it is accepted that Nuno was liked by many of Forest’s former players and was facing them for the first time since his messy exit from the City Ground, it was felt he should have waited until he was away from the cameras before reuniting with members of his old team. West Ham had just suffered an agonising late defeat and are on course to lose their fight to stay in the Premier League. In that context sources at the club felt that Nuno, who has two wins from 16 games since replacing Graham Potter in September, was naive to be seen smiling before heading down the tunnel.
It comes with staff and players at West Ham feeling increasingly demoralised. The Guardian has reported that Nuno is losing the support of his squad because of concerns over his tactics and man management. The wider mood at the training ground is understood to be low.
Some sources at West Ham believe Nuno should have been fired after last weekend’s shocking 3-0 defeat at Wolves. However the final decision rests with David Sullivan, the largest shareholder, who is believed to be unhappy with Nuno. Firing Nuno would leave West Ham having to pay off a third manager in the space of 12 months. Potter did not last long after replacing Julen Lopetegui a year ago.
West Ham have tried to back Nuno, bolstering his attack by spending up to £47m on Pablo Felipe from Gil Vicente and Taty Castellanos from Lazio. A fee of €21m (£18.2m) plus €3m in add-ons for the 22-year-old Pablo has caused surprise with some inside and outside the club, though. He joined Gil Vicente for €250,000 in July 2024. Nuno pushed for Pablo and Castellanos. Callum Wilson, the 33-year-old striker, is in talks to leave West Ham by mutual consent.
West Ham host Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday, then visit Tottenham in the league the following Saturday. Sources close to the club believe defeat by Spurs could spell the end for Nuno. Slaven Bilic has been linked with a return.
