West Ham could live to regret Nuno Espirito Santo sack decision as exit announced elsewhere
West Ham have given Nuno Espirito Santo time to get them out of a relegation fight, and that could prove costly.
With 12 games still to be played, West Ham find themselves deep into a relegation battle, though also just two points from safety.
The fight for survival looks set to go down to the wire, with one of Leeds, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham looking the most likely for the drop.
To give themselves the best chance of avoiding it, Tottenham opted to sack Thomas Frank this week, and now Nottingham Forest have moved to sack Sean Dyche.
And when taking into account their stats from the current campaign, it showcases exactly why West Ham may have made a mistake by sticking with Nuno.
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West Ham have taken a huge gamble with Nuno Espirito Santo
When West Ham decided to stick with Nuno, it was a shock. And while those feelings have been slightly subdued by their recent form, it feels like even more of a shock given the decisions made elsewhere.
Since his appointment at the London Stadium, Nuno has averaged just 1.09 points per game, but he has managed to keep his job off the back of it.
Dyche was sacked despite having Forest out of the relegation zone, with an average of 1.4 points per game, while Frank was sacked with an average of 1.29.
The decisions made at their respective clubs are a clear sign of the fact that they will do anything to avoid relegation, which is something that could come back to bite the Irons at the end of the campaign.
While largely dependent on who replaces them, the feeling will be that they will get a huge boost to their goals of staying in the Premier League, which could leave West Ham short.
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Where are West Ham predicted to finish this season?
If Tottenham and Forest get the typical new manager bounce, then it will likely be Leeds United that West Ham are looking to pull back down into the bottom three.
And given their recent form, that seems highly unlikely, and that is amplified by Opta‘s latest supercomputer prediction.
With 12 games to be played, the Hammers are currently predicted to finish 18th on 36 points.
Nuno’s side have a worryingly high 70.75 per cent chance of relegation, with Forest the next most likely with a 19.91 per cent chance of the drop.
To read more expert analysis on Nuno Espirito Santo and West Ham, head to Football Insider for all the latest.