Joe Cole and Nuno Espirito Santo appear to be on the same page with regards to what West Ham United must start to do if they are to claim the Premier League table.
In short, stop conceding so many goals.
West Ham United have not kept a clean sheet, in fact, since beating Nottingham Forest in August. Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest, no less.
Nuno is desperate for that to change. Preferably, during Saturday’s London derby against Fulham.
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While the manager insists that Alphonse Areola has made a huge difference to their set-piece record – the Hammers had conceded nine set-piece goals by the end of October but only two between then and late-December – opposition teams are still finding it far too easy to break through from open play.
Going into the 18th matchday, only bottom-of-the-table Wolves had conceded more than their 37 goals.
Former Upton Park icon Joe Cole, though, is backing Nuno to tighten those leaky taps. There is no one he would rather have in the dugout. Well, apart from maybe the man who succeeded him at Nottingham Forest, via Ange Postecoglou.
A certain Sean Dyche.
Joe Cole would welcome Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche at West Ham United
Back in September, when Potter was still in the Hammers hotseat and Forest were still persisting with Postecoglou, former Premier League marksman Troy Deeney claimed that Sean Dyche was the ideal appointment at the London Stadium.
Nuno would succeed Potter a few days later though. Dyche would then be parachuted in at the City Ground.
Both are pragmatic, defence-first coaches who have built past successes upon rock-solid foundations. Dyche took Burnley into Europe thanks in part to an almighty, land-of-the-giants spine which made his Clarets side such a fearsome opponent on their day.
Nuno brought Europa League football to Wolves and Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, in rather similar circumstances.
Cole is therefore confident that Nuno will eventually start to bring about the results West Ham need, even if his 16 per cent win rate pales in comparison to Dyche’s 53 per cent at Forest.
“What you would say about West Ham is, having Nuno, you wouldn’t want any other manager in there, barring maybe Sean Dyche,” Cole told TNT Sports ahead of Forest’s clash with Manchester City in Saturday’s early kick off.
“West Ham needed to shut that door. They conceded so many goals earlier this season, and Nuno has gone there and has improved slightly.”
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Nuno Espirito Santo knows the importance of improving Hammers defensive record
Nuno is without Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf. Both of his first-choice full-backs are on African Cup of Nations duty, with DR Congo and Senegal respectively.
But, while the much-maligned Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos are still yet to convince, Nuno has brought about much-improved performances from Areola and particularly Jean-Clair Todibo.
A first clean sheet in 15 matches would be another almighty step in the right direction.
“We did not achieve a clean sheet [in my tenure], so there is always something we need to do!” Nuno said recently. “There’s improvement but not total improvement, so we still have not reached the standards we expect.”
“There has been improvement in the other part; We are scoring, creating chances. So, it’s a moment to try and find the balance so we can compete for all the game.
“We have had leads and lost them in the last moments. We’ve been able to bounce back from [going behind in other matches]. So, the game is always a new situation to deal with.
“When we came in [to replace Graham Potter], it was the moment to assess and see what we had in reality. Then, try to identify how we are going to be, how we are going to compete. Not only defensively but as a team, and more importantly, how we operate as a group.
“For us to improve, it involves all the players in the squad. All the training sessions are important. That is when we achieve the real improvement.
“I can see our improvement. All the games are different. Those we draw, those we lose, and those we win. We know every game is going to be very tough, and Sunday will be very tough. We want to compete well, give the fans something they can identify with, and let’s see in the end if we have a good result.”
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