A late Brighton equaliser has spared West Ham the misery of spending the two-week break bottom of the Premier League and a host of stars are saying the same thing about Nuno Espirito Santo.
West Ham United were as close as you can come to hitting rock bottom on Sunday.
For most of the afternoon, the Hammers were propping up the rest of the Premier League a fifth of the way through the season.
Wolves were winning against Brighton which pushed West Ham bottom until a late leveller kept them 19th.
The potential significance should not be underestimated.
There is a mental drain that comes with being bottom of the table whether that is among the fanbase or the players.
Significant moment as Hammers stay off bottom
Nuno Espirito Santo has already impressed West Ham fans with his interviews, press conferences, approach and decision-making.
Not least because he told David Sullivan he wanted to take on the challenge of daunting back-to-back away games at Everton and Arsenal to kick off his Hammers tenure.
West Ham could and maybe should have won at Everton in a 1-1 draw.
That gave Nuno and the Irons something to build on. The reality is that was never going to happen at Arsenal.
The title favourites are simply on another level to West Ham, who earned praise from supporters for being much more aggressive, organised and defensively resolute than witnessed during 15 miserable months under Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter.
Those two managerial missteps have set West Ham back massively and left a huge mess for Nuno to clear up.
If there is a semblance of good news heading into yet another two-week international break it is that the Hammers are not bottom.
And West Ham stars are all saying the same thing about Nuno – that he is the man to get the club moving up the table.
West Ham face games against Brentford, Leeds, Newcastle and Burnley when Premier League action resumes before the November break.
The Hammers must be aiming for at least seven points, if not nine.
West Ham stars all saying the same thing about Nuno
The good news is some of West Ham’s leading players believe it is only a matter of time before Nuno has the team shooting up the table.
El Hadji Malick Diouf says he and his teammates have been hugely impressed by Nuno.
And he feels they can turn the entire season around as long as they continue to listen to the Portuguese.
“We are really enjoying working with the new Head Coach because he’s a good guy and already has the experience of the Premier League,” Diouf told West Ham’s website.
“We can have a good season with him… We have to be calm and take our time. We must play as a team, defend together and attack together, and I think if we do that, we will finish high in the table…
“We just have to do what the Head Coach tells us to, and I think it will be better. We need to listen to him and do what he says, and we have to do it properly.”
Konstantinos Mavropanos agrees with Diouf.
The big Greek defender looks like he may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Nuno’s focus on making the team more aggressive and defensively sound.
Mavropanos believes the straight-talking boss is going to turn things around at West Ham.
“The manager is really straight with what he wants, and at half-time he was telling us to stick to our plan,” Mavropanos told West Ham’s website.
“I think we can all adapt to his philosophies quickly, and we’re only going to get better with time. Hopefully, we’re stronger in the next game, and we can start getting the results we want.”
The likes of captain Jarrod Bowen had already talked about how much they have enjoyed the first week under the ex Wolves and Forest manager.
‘Only way is up under Nuno’ say Hammers stars
Another key star Crysencio Summerville says it was always going to be difficult for the Hammers at Arsenal.
A top Forest journalist claimed Nuno will make Summerville world class for West Ham.
And the flying Dutchman believes once the players fully adapt to Nuno’s style and tactics they will be a completely different animal on a different trajectory.
“It’s a new coach, so a new project, I think we need time to adapt and to play in his style,” Summerville told West Ham’s website.
“I think once we have everything under control, we will be very good under him.
“We can work and we’re going to work [during the break], and we’re going to show everyone what we’re capable of against Brentford.”
Factor in that Nuno will soon be bringing in his own staff and that can only help with the transition too as the Hammers look to start with a clean slate after the international break.
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