Nuno Espirito Santo maintained a dignified composure when Tottenham dismissed him after just four months in 2021. Now, as he returns to the Premier League with a calm and collected approach, he stands poised to potentially deal a significant blow to his former club, Tottenham, on Friday night.
His journey with West Ham has been far from straightforward. The team endured a challenging ten-game winless streak during winter, hitting rock bottom with a 3-0 loss to Wolves. Reflecting on that tough period, Nuno candidly admitted, “It was embarrassing. I can’t recall feeling worse on a football pitch than I did today.”
However, players from his past teams—Wolves, Nottingham Forest, and now West Ham—attest to his straightforward communication, tactical systems, and ability to inspire confidence. This newfound belief is crucial as West Ham faces a pivotal relegation battle against Wolves in east London on Friday, a match that could edge Spurs closer to the danger zone.
While uncertainties linger, Wolves have become one of the Premier League’s most rejuvenated teams, boasting victories over Aston Villa and Liverpool this Spring. Nuno has reshaped West Ham’s defense into a competent unit, adept at maintaining structure when not in possession. His partnership with Tomas Soucek could be key to West Ham’s survival.
Their resilience was most evident in last month’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City, showcasing the defensive prowess of players like Axel Disasi—on loan from Chelsea—Konstantinos Mavropanos, and Jean-Clair Todibo.
Nuno Espirito Santo endured a turbulent time at Tottenham but is now looking to see his former club drop into the relegation zone
The former Nottingham Forest manager has formed a close bond with Tomas Soucek which is driving West Ham’s great escape from the drop
One standout performance came from Tomas Soucek, who tirelessly covered more ground than any other player on the Etihad pitch that night, with Rodri being the only exception. His tenacity remains memorable days later.
His capacity for taking up attacking positions from midfield was why David Moyes loved his game and saw a lot of Tim Cahill in him. But in the elemental fight that this Premier League season has become, we have seen Soucek operating as a number 6, dropping in among the centre backs yet controlling West Ham’s football, too. A shining light.
Back in the squad on Friday night is Crysencio Summerville, the Dutch winger from whom Nuno also seemed to have coaxed his best before he was sidelined with a calf injury sustained in the FA Cup win over Brentford.
Before his strike against QPR in the FA Cup just past the turn of the year, Summerville had one goal in his first 38 games since joining from Leeds in August 2024 for £25million. He was out for nine months with a hamstring injury, suffered in Graham Potter’s first game in charge.
But his marauding work down the right served up seven goals in ten matches, made him a totemic presence in West Ham’s survival bid and brought Ruud van Nistelrooy to the club’s door, looking to see if the 24-year-old might form part of the Dutch World Cup squad this summer. ‘He’s improving. We are positive,’ Nuno said of his chances of featuring against Wolves.
Amid the relentlessly tough experience that this season has become, Nuno found himself answering for the decision to change up the squad for the FA Cup quarter final defeat to Leeds. The punishing blow of elimination on penalties, with Wembley in sight after the fairytale of England under-20 goalkeeper Finlay Herrick’s initial save, has been hard to live with, this past week.
‘We have been under pressure since the beginning because we are under constant scrutiny. We are aware that people could lose their jobs if we get relegated,’ Nuno said, when he sat down to discuss Friday’s game. ‘I truly believe the fans understand the situation and we need them for the last seven games. I hope they trust us and support us on Friday.’
West Ham have a marginally more challenging run-in than either Tottenham or Wolves, with Everton, Arsenal and Brentford to play, though have won their last five Premier League home games against Wolves. Beat them, and they will leapfrog Spurs.
Tottenham have been tweeting clips of Roberto de Zerbi’s first training session as their manager – creating the impression that he has gone down rather better than the unfortunate Igor Tudor.
But Nuno brings the experience of being plunged into the relegation zone at Forest when the team was docked points. ‘I punched something… I was disappointed,’ he reflected afterwards.
‘We just had to stick together and go for it.’ He won’t admit it, but there will a kind of vindication if he can drag Spurs into the mire.
