Nuno Espirito Santo has one player to blame for West Ham sack – and it’s not Alphonse Areola

Nuno Espirito Santo may feel hard done by after West Ham lost to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

West Ham fell to a 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest as a late Morgan Gibbs-White penalty made the difference at the London Stadium.

The Hammers had a strike ruled out as the Premier League revealed an offside call against West Ham in the build-up to Crysencio Summerville’s effort.

That summed up the Irons’ luck, and it now feels increasingly likely that Nuno will face the sack at West Ham after just five months in charge.

Nuno may pile the blame on his players, but Alphonse Areola could avoid criticism thanks to the performance of one of his teammates.

Taty Castellanos to blame for West Ham defeat vs Nottingham Forest

Taty Castellanos made his debut against Nottingham Forest after completing his January switch from Lazio.

There is hope that he could be the answer to the Irons’ attacking problems, but that wasn’t on show against Sean Dyche’s men.

The Argentine struggled to make a positive impact on the pitch and then played a key role in West Ham’s downfall on the night.

Castellanos was caught offside before Summerville looked to have made it 2-0, a goal which could have secured the three points in East London.

The forward then fell asleep at the front post from a corner just two minutes later and allowed Nicolas Dominguez to net an equaliser.

Should this result be the end of Nuno at the London Stadium, he will have the winter signing to blame as much as anyone.

Read more: Callum Marshall has a medical booked in at a club abroad

Nuno didn’t help himself by hugging Morgan Gibbs-White

There may be blame on the shoulders of Castellanos, but there is no getting away from the issues the Wolves boss is causing himself.

Those who were still left at the London Stadium were totally dejected and could hardly bring themselves to boo the performance and result.

Despite this, the head coach took it upon himself to go and give the man who scored the winner a big cuddle.

Nuno Espirito Santo hugging Morgan Gibbs-White at the London Stadium
Credit: Sky Sports

I understand that they worked together at Forest and Wolves and clearly have respect for each other, but there’s a time and a place for that, Nuno.

The Portuguese head coach already has a non-existent relationship with the Irons faithful, and this result, on top of his antics, has only made things worse.

It could be time up…

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