Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Mon 4 May 2026 7:10, UK

West Ham United have been pulled back into the bottom three after a poor weekend of results.

The Hammers fell to defeat on Saturday, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side comfortably dispatched 3-0 by Europe-chasing Brentford.

This would be the first league defeat since returning from the international break for the Irons, who escaped the drop zone last month via a 4-0 triumph against Wolves.

The East London club have turned a corner under Nuno in 2026, but have still not been able to stray far enough away from trouble.

And now, with Tottenham closing out the weekend with a 2-1 win against Aston Villa, frustration and misplaced anger have been sent in the direction of Unai Emery, with the Hammers now residing in the relegation zone once again.

Aston Villa anger is misplaced – West Ham have themselves to blame

Heading into their clash against Spurs, Villa had been struggling for form.

Beaten by Fulham the Saturday prior, the Midlanders would fall to defeat against Nottingham Forest on Thursday, leaving them in search of momentum ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg to come this week.

While their Champions League hopes remain in their hands, Emery’s side have struggled since the early days of the year, with the Villans often winning on fine margins, as seen in their 2-0 win against West Ham back in March.

Looking ahead to their second leg against Forest, Emery made the decision to rotate, with the side deployed seemingly more like one that would be fielded in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup.

As a result, they came out second best against a Tottenham side looking to get a run going, after winning for the first time in 2026 just over a week ago.

Sections of the Hammers fanbase would direct the anger at Emery and Villa – naturally given the frustrating battle.

Though Nuno and his side had an identical chance just two weeks ago, they would play out a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace just days after the Eagles spent their energy reaching the Conference League semi-finals.

With three to go, survival is not in West Ham’s hands, but the fact of the matter is that they have not done enough for it to be.

West Ham have not done enough to seize relegation control

Nuno was dealt an incredibly rough hand upon his arrival.

Inheriting a thin squad without quality oozing through it, the turnaround was always going to happen as a result of a mentality shift – something that he achieved at the beginning of this calendar year.

However, West Ham have never been able to pull away, with too many dropped points not allowing them to seize control of the race.

At the same time, both Leeds and Nottingham Forest have been able to gain control of their own destiny.

Grabbing games by the scruff of the neck, and putting mini runs together, the Whites and the Garibaldi have put themselves in a strong position heading into the final rounds.

Hammers fans are naturally disappointed after the weekend, but the simple fact of the matter is that you cannot be in a position where you have to rely on others – something that is now the case once again.

While others, and even Spurs now, are taking control, the Irons have remained inconsistent in their performance – causing a situation where a sizeable points haul in the final three is now imperative.