Nuno Espirito Santo has done a fine job at turning West Ham United around in recent months but his tendency to drop deep too early is perhaps the one major concern at the club heading into the final four games of the season.
Indeed, West Ham United beat Everton 2-1 on Saturday to keep themselves two points clear of the drop zone, thanks to a late goal from Callum Wilson.
DISCUSS: Callum Wilson is NOT a starter for West Ham even despite his late goal vs Everton 👀
Nuno, of course, deserves a lot of credit, but the gamble he took went unpunished and West Ham cannot rely on dramatic last-minute winners for four more games.
Nuno tends to revert to defensive tactics too early in games
Until Wilson scored, anyone watching here in east London and beyond could have seen what was coming.
While undoubtedly a good manager, Nuno has often been accused of inviting pressure onto his teams with his in-game substitutions.
History threatened to repeat itself on Saturday when forward Pablo Felipe was taken off for midfielder Freddie Potts in the 79th minute.
How will the Premier League table look when it’s all said and done? 🤔
West Ham are in a precarious position with 4 games to go! 😬
Though Pablo may not always convince in an attacking sense, having an extra body behind Taty Castellanos did at least give Everton something to think about.
This is not a slight on Potts, who does his job diligently. However, West Ham ceded the initiative and by the time Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall levelled the scores, it had been coming following wave after wave on Evertonian pressure.
Clearly, it’s brilliant that West Ham found a way back into the game, and Nuno deserves praise for his role in that. He, after all, brought Wilson on for Castellanos.
Still, not every game ends in such drama. That tendency to drop deep with so much time on the clock would have cost Nuno’s side dearly on another day. Wilson is a brilliant striker but cannot bail his team out all of the time with so few minutes on the pitch.
The landscape has changed for Nuno in the relegation battle
It is arguably much easier to be the hunter rather than the hunted in situations such as a tight relegation battle.
The Irons have something to hold onto and the natural reaction might be to defend it at all costs.
However, the fact that West Ham are favourites to stay up instead of Tottenham cannot weigh too heavily on Nuno’s mind.
The reason for West Ham’s improvement since mid-January has been because of attacking intent as much as the defensive solidity Axel Disasi has brought in abundance.
Pablo, Castellanos and Crysencio Summerville have all stepped up as much as their defensive counterparts.
It’s a balancing act, and observations are easily made when you’re not on the touchline. Advice comes both freely and unsolicited in that position, of course.
Still, Nuno must have seen how costly that could have been. Finding a middle ground is of the utmost importance.
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