Struggling West Ham have needed a strong hand for some time and it looks like they finally have it with new boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Graham Potter was branded ‘too nice’ for West Ham by the likes of Troy Deeney.
After one game under Nuno Espirito Santo, he is already being proved right.
Mild-mannered Potter has never been one to rant and rave.
Outward displays of passion are rare for the man dubbed a ‘PE teacher with a psychology degree’ by some West Ham fans who’d had enough of their team’s passive performances.
Potter failed to inspire in interviews and press conferences and judging by performances and results, it was the same for the players in the dressing room too.
No more Mr Nice Guy in Nuno’s bold new era for West Ham
To say there has been an instant uplift around the team since Nuno took over is an understatement.
The Portuguese impressed from his first interview and West Ham played with some fire in their bellies in the much-improved display at Everton.
If Potter was a soft touch, Nuno is anything but.
His ruthless decision to drop James Ward-Prowse from the entire squad in his first game set the stall out.
While Hammers fans have been banging their heads against the wall seeing Ward-Prowse start every game under Potter, some have questioned the decision to omit the midfielder from the squad altogether.
But this is a new West Ham, Nuno’s West Ham and there is something in the way he delivers his explanation for the decision that tells you players will dare not question him.
As when any new manager steps in at a football club, they will have their idea of which faces fit.
In many ways the Hammers are fortunate.
Nuno wanted Crysencio Summerville, Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa and El Hadji Malick Diouf at Nottingham Forest in the summer.
And he has raved about Jarrod Bowen in the past too.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ward-Prowse is clearly one of the unfancied players Nuno has inherited, especially after he saw his loan at Forest cut short last season having barely featured.
There is something very different about training in footage released by West Ham since Nuno’s arrival.
And the picture is becoming clearer of what the team and squad will look like going forward under the ex Wolves and Spurs boss.
Nuno’s West Ham bomb squad named after Ward-Prowse claim
Now it seems Nuno’s West Ham bomb squad can be named after a big Ward-Prowse claim.
Earlier this week it was reported Nuno has put West Ham star Ward-Prowse on gardening leave.
It was claimed Ward-Prowse will be completely ostracised from the first team squad and told he can leave in January.
Ward-Prowse was allegedly waiting to be told what his new daily routine would look like at West Ham under Nuno.
But footage released by the Hammers ahead of the clash with Arsenal has proved very revealing in more ways than one.
What is clear is that Ward-Prowse is very much training separately from the core first team players.
However, he is not alone in that sense.
Because Nuno appears to have changed how the first team squad operates.
Footage from West Ham shows there is a clearly defined group of key first choice players.
They include Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville, Diouf, Magassa, Alphonse Areola, Max Kilman, Ollie Scarles, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Niclas Fullkrug, Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta, Callum Marshall and Kyle Walker-Peters.
That group was kept separate in the session leading up to Arsenal with Nuno seen having an intimate chat with them.
Then there is a separate group of players who appear to have essentially been ring-fenced as the substitute squad.
Some will clearly not be in Nuno’s plans while others may be appreciated by the manager but have been out with the sub squad with the incentive of proving they should be playing.
They include Ward-Prowse, Luis Guilherme, Igor Julio, Callum Wilson, Freddie Potts, Guido Rodriguez, Andy Irving, Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the two back-up ‘keepers Lukasz Fabianski and Mads Hermansen.
Nuno is seen spending a lot of time giving instruction to the sub squad as they play high-intensity small-sided games against one-another.
It is a fascinating insight into how Nuno operates and how he is going to manage the squad.
What particularly stands out is Soucek’s place in the core first team group given he is suspended for the trip to Arsenal.
He spoke in his press conference about waiting until Friday to whittle his 22-man squad down to 20 for the matchday list.
You can bet your bottom dollar two of those omitted will come from the sub squad.
Whoever it turns out to be will know there is no future for them in east London.
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