Credit: Imago and Sky Sports

Daniel Lewis

Mon 18 May 2026 19:10, UK Updated Mon 18 May 2026 19:27, UK

Jamie Carragher has criticised Nuno Espirito Santo over his “big mistake” in fielding a back three in West Ham United‘s loss to Newcastle United.

The Irons stuck with the formation that worked well for almost the entirety of the previous weekend’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal.

However, the Irons found themselves behind inside 14 minutes through Nick Woltemade’s strike and were two down four minutes later when Will Osula struck.

Osula added a second of his own shortly after the hour, rendering Taty Castellanos’ wondergoal nothing more than a consolation.

The defeat effectively sends West Ham down to the Championship, with Carragher explaining why he was surprised at Nuno’s selection.

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West Ham really needed a win from their trip to St James’ Park, but instead they were beaten comfortably against a side with little to play for.

Due to the Hammers’ poor goal difference, Spurs only need a point away at Chelsea or home to Everton over the next six days.

And as flagged by Carragher on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, West Ham actually have a dreadful record overall when using a back three – or a back five, depending on how you define it.

West Ham lost 2-1 to Leeds, 1-0 to Arsenal and 3-1 to Newcastle with that formation, as well as drawing with Bournemouth, Brighton and Manchester City.

The latter was a good result, granted, but that is six winless games in that formation. Newcastle, meanwhile, have won 12, drawn two and lost one of their past 15 against back-three teams.

“Nuno knows this system brilliantly,” Carragher said. “He used it so often with Wolves, but the real success [at West Ham] has come with 4-4-2.

“So it was a big mistake what he did and he realised that after 25-30 minutes, but it was too late.”

Too late, indeed, and that is surely that as far as West Ham’s survival hopes are concerned.

West Ham fans will not like Nuno contract clause

Should West Ham drop down into the second tier, as is looking extremely likely, there is a break clause for both the club and manager.

That means West Ham have the option to move on from Nuno, who likewise can call time on his spell at the London Stadium even if the Hammers want him to stay.

There is no compensation clause in Nuno’s West Ham contract, either, so the Portuguese can work away scot-free despite failing in his mission.

While it is harsh to blame Nuno – there are plenty of others more deserving of that – he did have a chance to guide the Irons away from the bottom three.

Decisions like the one we saw against Newcastle have simply helped put the final nails in the coffin.