That West Ham United found themselves in ‘save our season’ mode after only five Premier League matches – Nuno Espirito Santo parachuted in last weekend – speaks volumes about their dismal start under Graham Potter.
The good news is that, while vice-chair Karren Brady clearly wanted to back Graham Potter for as long as she realistically could, putting him out of his misery before the start of October gives the Hammers plenty of time to spark a turnaround.
West Ham United produced their most complete performance of the campaign in their first match post-Potter away at Everton on Monday night. Reunited again after working together at Wolves, Max Kilman insists that Nuno is only getting started, too.
If many Hammers supporters were asked, following that 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace, what would constitute a successful season at that stage, most would probably say anywhere above the relegation zone.
Harry Redknapp, one of Nuno’s predecessors in East London, now believes that survival will indeed be secured.
In Nuno, they have a coach who saved Nottingham Forest from the drop and then took them into Europe in the space of 17 months. For now, while a return to the Europa or Conference League remains the ambition, most would be content with Nuno just doing the first part for now.
Harry Redknapp predicts where West Ham United will finish under Nuno Espirito Santo
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Redknapp feels that West Ham will finish somewhere between 11th and 17th once their new head coach gets his feet under the table.
Reach the top end of that scale, and the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo will go down as one of the smarter decisions Brady and David Sullivan have made in a while.
“West Ham won’t get relegated, but it’s going to be a tough season for them,” says Redknapp, who spent seven years at Upton Park from 1994 to 2001. “Even this early on, I predict it will be bottom six or seven this season.
“They’ll be OK this season. I don’t see them going down.
“[But] West Ham always seem to be in ‘crisis’. It goes from one to another. There’s bitterness, which ranges from the chairman being chased down the street by fans or protests or discontent.
“They had five managers in the first 90 or so years of their existence, and now they are getting through them so quickly. They’re not alone, of course, in this day and age. But West Ham used to have an air of stability about the place.”
Redknapp wants a striker as Nuno aims for more consistency
Stability is something Nuno will look to re-introduce. His previous successes at Wolves and Nottingham Forest – he finished in the top seven with both clubs – bodes well for a brighter future.
Hammers News have been told that Nuno and Jorge Mendes will have a degree of control over recruitment from here on in as well. Redknapp believes a new striker is a must in January, unless Nuno can do for Niclas Fullkrug what he did for Chris Wood at the City Ground.
“It’s the first game. It’s now it’s up to us to analyse and see how the game [went]. But, first impressions, I think the team competed well,” Nuno told Beanyman Sports after Jarrod Bowen’s equaliser at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night
“[Everton] was a tough place to come. A tough, tough place to come. A very good team. But overall, I think was a was a good game, intense, both teams had chances. And the message for us is how we can compete now, the basics of a football match.
“Defend properly and attack, try to take advantage of the imbalance. We are always positive, believing that our chance is going to come.
“[In Bowen], we have players that can produce these moments. It’s all about how we do things together. It’s not about individuals, it’s about how can we do things together.”
