A few weeks ago, Nuno Espirito Santo claimed that the relegation battle would go down to the final day of the Premier League season.
On Sunday, that looked like a fantasy. With Leeds and Nottingham Forest safe, West Ham were given an 87.65% chance of relegation after losing to Arsenal, with Tottenham then having the chance to go four points clear.
Oh wow 👀 How has Tottenham’s draw with Leeds made YOU feel about the relegation battle?!
This weirdly feels like a boost?
Spurs, however, did not take that opportunity, and West Ham now have fresh hope heading into the final two games of the campaign.
Nuno thinks relegation fight will go down to the final day of the season
Back in April, the 52-year-old said: “In all the aspects of the table, it’s going to go to the last one, for sure.”
That prediction is now looking correct.
Spurs missed the chance to all-but relegate West Ham, who were facing the prospect of sitting four points behind their rivals with two Premier League games to play.
How do you FEEL about West Ham wanting to keep Nuno next season? 😳
Now, they know that a win at Newcastle will see them pull out of the relegation zone for a few hours at least until Spurs play bitter rivals Chelsea on Tuesday night.
The conditions are there for a grandstand finish and it would be foolish to write West Ham off.
Nuno hasn’t always covered himself in glory in the dugout this season. Still, somehow, he could yet have his team sitting above the relegation zone heading into the final day if results go their way.
This relegation battle has taken so many twists and turns, so it would be unwise to look too far into the future. The fact that West Ham could be out of the bottom three by the time Spurs play Everton, however, has to be significant.
West Ham are still alive and the manner of their performance against Arsenal pointed to a team who still believe they can achieve their goals.
The Nuno era might be short-lived here in east London but the only thing that is for certain is that his West Ham team cannot be written off.
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