Nuno Espirito Santo sees plenty of reason for positivity regarding West Ham United’s performances and results, but a team sitting 18th in the Premier League table are not yet at the level he so desires.
Despite losing two points in highly controversial fashion at the Amex – Nuno was furious about Georginio Rutter’s equaliser in the 91st minute, and rightly so in truth – the Hammers have now lost only one of their last six matches.
Should results go their way this weekend, West Ham United can move above Leeds and Nottingham Forest to within one point of Fulham in 15th.
But for a coach who prides himself upon constructing well-drilled backlines – he took Forest and Wolves into Europe while perfecting a pragmatic, results-driven gameplan – a lack of clean sheets remains an active concern.
An itch Nuno Espirito Santo is desperate to scratch.
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Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has represented about substantial upgrade on Mads Hermansen when it comes to defending set-pieces. But, from open play, the Hammers remain worryingly vulnerable.
Nuno Espirito Santo wants West Ham United to end their clean sheet hoodoo
The Londoners have just one clean sheet from 14 league matches. That, ironically came against Nuno’s Forest side back in August.
“We did not achieve a clean sheet [in my tenure], so there is always something we need to do!” Nuno said during his press conference on Friday lunchtime. “There’s improvement but not total improvement, so we still have not reached the standards we expect.”
West Ham came within touching distance of a rare clean sheet last time out at the Amex. That was until the aforementioned Rutter broke Areola’s resistance at the death.
Nuno dropped Max Kilman for Konstantinos Mavropanos against Liverpool and Manchester United, though the much-maligned centre-back returned to the XI away to Brighton with the coach switching to a three-man defence.
It remains to be seen which system he selects when the Hammers host in-form Aston Villa on Sunday.
Nuno happy with West Ham’s attacking play as Jarrod Bowen finds the net again
At the other end of the pitch, captain Jarrod Bowen ended his drought with an ‘unbelievable’ finish. Darting in behind and latching onto a clever Callum Wilson through ball, the skipper drilled his effort past a helpless Bart Verbruggen.
His first league strike since Everton in September.
Wilson is also averaging a goal or an assist every 120 minutes. Crysencio Summerville is under pressure to end his year-long wait for a goal of his own, though.
“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,” Nuno added.
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And is this a make-or-break spell for Ollie Scarles?
“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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