West Ham lose faith in Nuno after unforgivable footage spotted vs Nottingham Forest
West Ham’s crushing 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night was supposed to be the end of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign as manager.
Ahead of the relegation six-pointer, it was suggested that Nuno had one game to save his job at the London Stadium, and it appears they’ve gone against their word.
West Ham are prepared to back Nuno, despite going winless in their last 10 matches, after signing two players he wanted at the start of this window.
Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos arrived from Gil Vicente and Lazio, respectively, and made their debuts during the 2-1 defeat against Forest.
But even with West Ham in the market for a defender next to fulfil Nuno’s request, the Portuguese could be approaching the end of the road.
West Ham unhappy with Nuno Espirito Santo hugging Nottingham Forest players
In a potentially season-defining match, Hammers supporters left the London Stadium feeling angry after Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out Murillo’s own goal.
Defeat has left the Irons seven points from safety when a win would have reduced the deficit to one, and there is now an acceptance that relegation could be unavoidable.
While that is the case, Nuno isn’t acting like his team are in desperate danger of dropping into the Championship, as he was spotted hugging Gibbs-White at full-time.
According to The Guardian, the West Ham board are ‘losing faith’ in the 51-year-old after he embraced his former colleagues on the pitch.
The report claims that, while they’re reluctant to make their second sacking of the season after Graham Potter, they are ‘increasingly unimpressed’ with Nuno’s tactics and did not like his demeanour following their latest crushing defeat.
West Ham are losing faith in Nuno and disliked him embracing Forest’s players on Monday #whufc https://t.co/01FB0LJJqB
— Jacob Steinberg 🎗️ (@JacobSteinberg) January 9, 2026
Why Nuno must change formation
David Sullivan has been placed in a difficult position at West Ham, and it’s all his own fault. A decision was made to back Nuno with new signings, acquiring two centre-forwards he wanted.
But now, that could have already backfired, as the Portuguese boss has shown no signs of turning their poor situation around.
In an attempt to salvage their Premier League survival hopes, a new centre-back signing could be crucial, as it would allow Nuno to play his preferred 3-5-2 system.
West Ham have been linked with Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock, among others, in their quest to add another body to their defence.
Pinnock, in particular, would enable the Hammers to deploy a back three, and in turn, use El Hadji Malick Diouf as a left wing-back once he returns, with a potential midfield three of Soungoutou Magassa, Lucas Paqueta and Mateus Fernandes.
A three-man defence could suit their personnel better and arguably gives them a better chance of posting some positive results.
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