David Sullivan responds to Nuno Espirito Santo sack latest as West Ham in ‘impossible’ situation
West Ham United may have reached a point of no return for Nuno Espirito Santo.
West Ham’s 2-1 win over QPR in the FA Cup third round on 11 January was a much-needed change from the norm, but it’s done little to ease the pressure on Nuno.
Sam Allardyce has suggested he’d be willing to take over at West Ham if Nuno were to receive his marching orders, ahead of what is a crunch clash away at fellow strugglers Tottenham on Saturday.
David Sullivan has been told to sell West Ham, with his running of the Irons widely criticised by the vast majority of fans, and he may now have backed himself into a corner with Nuno as well.
David Sullivan has made his Nuno Espirito Santo bed
West Ham haven’t claimed a Premier League win since their 3-2 victory over Burnley on 8 November.
Since then, the Hammers have lost six and drawn four from their last 10 league games, and with Spurs, Sunderland and Chelsea to come in their next three fixtures, their chance to stay in the relegation fight may have passed them by.
It would be nothing short of disastrous for West Ham to be relegated to the Championship, and Sullivan will be well aware of that. In times of crisis such as this one, rolling the dice and making a managerial change is often the last hope.
However, the I Paper has reported that Sullivan went against the recent wishes of numerous advisors to axe the 51-year-old, and instead opted to side with him ahead of West Ham’s games against Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
It’s also revealed that Nuno championed the combined £47.8million signings of Taty Castellanos and Pablo, whilst the Hammers boss also turned down other options and green-lit Callum Wilson’s exit.
“We’ve got ourselves into an impossible situation,” one particular source is cited as having said.
“The board wanted to back the manager and have brought in his main transfer targets, but after losing two key games, the future remains uncertain.”
West Ham’s clash with Tottenham could cost either manager their jobs
It’s a London derby meeting between Tottenham and West Ham on Saturday that could have an awful lot more riding on it than just bragging rights.
Thomas Frank is also under huge pressure at Spurs, who are sitting 14th, and whilst under no threat of relegation, are falling significantly short of their aspirations despite moving on from Ange Postecoglou and appointing the former Brentford boss.
- Tottenham are unbeaten in their last four against West Ham
- Spurs have only won nine points at home all season
- West Ham have won just once away from home this season
However, the Lilywhites have been poor at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this term, winning just two league games there so far, and so defeat against West Ham this weekend could really see that place turn extremely toxic, and ultimately be too big a loss for Frank to recover from.
Meanwhile, Sullivan will know that if he’s going to sack Nuno, he needs to do it very soon, otherwise it will reach a point where he is the best man to lead the Hammers into the rest of the season, given any new boss wouldn’t have the time or transfer capabilities to turn the team around.
Stay up to date this winter with our West Ham transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at the London Stadium, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.