Though a wait for a first win goes on at West Ham United, Nuno Espirito Santo has certainly made some positive early steps back in a Premier League dugout.
Nuno feels West Ham are fixing their ‘big problem’. Or, at least, they are making progress in that department.
While talking up the importance of Max Kilman, the former Wolves stalwart who made his Premier League debut under Graham Potter’s successor, that West Ham United dealt with Arsenal’s formidable corner kicks effectively at the Emirates felt like a big step in the right direction.
From open play, Konstantinos Mavropanos outmuscled Viktor Gyokeres pretty comfortably at the Emirates. As for Alphonse Areola, the experienced Frenchman continues to justify his inclusion over Mads Hermansen.
Yet, one clean sheet in eight matches at the start of 2025/26 is a record Nuno will be desperate to change. This, after all, is a coach who took both Wolves and Nottingham Forest into Europe, success built upon the rock-solid foundations of a sturdy backline.
A few divisions down, Kevin Nolan’s unexpected turnaround at Northampton Town owes much to a brilliant defensive record of their own. Under major pressure after three defeats in four to start the campaign, the former West Ham assistant coach now has the Cobblers on the brink of League One’s top half.
Nolan was confident Michael Forbes would bounce back during a loan spell at Sixfields, meanwhile, after injuries stalled the young centre-back’s progress back in East London.
Now, as the Hammers loanee reflects on an ‘unbelievable’ start to life at Northampton, the faith shown in the one-time Northern Ireland international is being repaid with interest.
West Ham United loanee Michael Forbes is loving Northampton Town spell
While one-time West Ham whizzkid Kamarai Swyer scored against Chelsea in the EFL Trophy recently – his first in a Northampton shirt – Forbes is a massive reason why Nolan’s rock-solid Cobblers are on a run of seven clean sheets in eight matches.
“West Ham know when a player is ready and needs first-team minutes,” Forbes now tells the Northampton Chronicle. “Thankfully, I’ve settled in well and hopefully I can just keep getting better. That’s the main thing for me.
“I love being here and I love doing it with this group of players. I know back there have been some changes back at West Ham [with Nuno replacing Potter] but, when I’m here, I have to put all my focus on Northampton and doing my best for this club.
“I hope [the Hammers] can pick up because I have a lot of friends there. But, right now, while I’m here, the main thing is to focus on Northampton.”
Forbes is backing up his ‘exceptional’ potential under Kevin Nolan
Reserve coach Mark Robson felt West Ham had an ‘exceptional’ talent on their hands when a 17-year-old Forbes leapt onto the Under-21 stage a couple of seasons back.
Flash forward to 2025, and a now 21-year-old Forbes is putting that ‘really bad luck’ on the injury front behind him.
“I’m really enjoying it and it’s days like Saturday, where you go away to Port Vale on a grim day and you battle to a point, which is not something you get in the academy at West Ham,” the youngster adds, grinding out a hard-earned stalemate on a miserable Staffordshire afternoon.
“It’s an unbelievable experience for me and I just want to keep playing more and more games for Northampton. I’m loving my time here and hopefully I can continue my form and we can keep winning games and keep racking up clean sheets.”
Northern Ireland international is emulating Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall
The likes of Freddie Potts, George Earthy and Callum Marshall returned to West Ham more confident and mature footballers following impressive loan spells in the Football League, with Portsmouth, Bristol City and Huddersfield Town respectively.
Forbes is now on track to do the same.
“The atmosphere is a big difference. When you go away with the academy team, there’s no fans and there’s no real pressure and it’s not a hostile environment,” he adds. “The other thing is that teams play the same way every week at youth level and you know everyone is going to play out from the back.
“But in League One, you could play a direct team one week and then a possession team the next week. Those are things you have to deal with and you have to make adjustments as a young player. It’s about winning your individual battles.
“Everything is in front of you in academy football but here you’re running back to your own goal a lot and as a defender that’s one of the hardest things to do. Experiences like that are invaluable to me and it will only really help me going forward in my career.”
“When you’re in the team and keeping clean sheets, you want to continue. But not many people get the chance to represent their country so you have to take the positives and I’ll do my best and then when I’m back with Northampton, I’ll do everything I can to get back in the team.”
Of those eight matches, in which Nolan’s Cobblers have kept seven clean sheets, Forbes has featured five times.
