Jamie O’Hara drops ironic Nuno Espirito Santo relegation claim that West Ham fans will love
Nuno Espirito Santo could finally be leading West Ham to Premier League survival after their 3-1 win against Sunderland.
When West Ham lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest on 6 January, fans thought that their Premier League status would be coming to an end in May.
However, West Ham beat Tottenham 2-1 in dramatic circumstances on 17 January, and they followed that up with a magnificent win over Sunderland at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers have won three consecutive games in all competitions, and Jamie O’Hara is among those to feel that they have renewed their hopes of staying up this season.
Jamie O’Hara predicts Nuno Espirito Santo to relegate Nottingham Forest
The result against Sunderland leaves West Ham two points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who play their game in hand away to Brentford on Sunday.
Nuno led Forest to a seventh-placed finish last year, but was sacked after West Ham won 3-0 at the City Ground on 31 August.
Following their win at the London Stadium, O’Hara posted on X: “Nuno is gonna send down Forest ain’t he, it’s written in the stars.”
It would be incredibly ironic if Nuno were to keep West Ham in the Premier League at the expense of Forest, who believed that his managerial reign had run its course.
Nuno has been under intense scrutiny after managing the Irons to a 10-game winless run between November and early January.
Since being appointed by West Ham, the Portuguese head coach hasn’t found it easy, although he certainly has the backing of his players.
Although they have to play Chelsea, Man United, and Liverpool in their next five league games, the Hammers are currently the only side in the top flight to have won their last two matches.
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West Ham’s convincing win vs Sunderland shows they can avoid relegation
That seems truly remarkable due to how poor they’ve been at times this season, but the performance against Sunderland was arguably the best under his stewardship.
Although West Ham are still the favourites to be relegated, they aren’t going to go down without a fight.
They outclassed a high-flying Sunderland side on Saturday, and it was a result that could kickstart an impressive run of form.
| West Ham | Stat | Sunderland |
| 47% | Possession | 53% |
| 1.52 | Expected goals | 0.67 |
| 13 | Shots | 7 |
| 4 | Big chances | 3 |
| 66% | Ground duels won | 34% |
While the Spurs game was all about claiming the three points, the Hammers produced a vintage performance against the Black Cats to give the home fans some optimism.
There is still a long way to go, but Nuno would have definitely taken being just two points away from safety before the end of January.
New signings could still be made before the transfer market closes on 2 February, and West Ham need to carry their momentum forward ahead of their away clash against Chelsea on 31 January.
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