The most disconcerting thing for West Ham United\u2019s supporters, in the build-up to a critical derby match away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, is how belief within the club is ebbing away.<\/p>\n
An 11-day break from the misery of a relegation scrap, for the FA Cup\u2019s third round, has done little to raise spirits. Sources within the club\u2019s hierarchy, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, fear that Premier League survival this season is now almost impossible following the morale-sapping 2-1 defeat against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest, a result that leaves the club seven points adrift of safety with 17 games to go.<\/p>\n
After successful spells in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, who succeeded Graham Potter as head coach in late September, was considered an ideal fit on paper. It has worked less well in practice: Nuno has only won two of his 15 league games (against Newcastle United and Burnley).<\/p>\n
Despite this poor run, club sources with knowledge of the situation say there is no immediate willingness to sack Nuno.<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old signed a three-year contract and would be entitled to a big pay-off if he was jettisoned. Nuno was chosen as Potter\u2019s successor ahead of former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who was at the helm between 2015 and 2017. Sources close to the Croatian say he would be interested in returning to the job if it became available.<\/p>\n
After the trip to Tottenham, West Ham have games against Sunderland (home), where supporters have been encouraged not to attend the first 15 minutes, Chelsea (away), Burnley (away) and Manchester United (home) before the next FA Cup break in mid-February.<\/p>\n
Following the loss to Forest, Nuno told reporters he still believes the club can retain their top-flight status. But West Ham\u2019s current 10-game winless run in the league is their worst since the 2006-07 season. The Athletic<\/em> has reported that the first-team squad have 50 per cent salary reduction clauses in their contracts if West Ham do end up getting relegated to the Championship.<\/p>\n The omens for this game with Tottenham, who sacked Nuno four months after his appointment in summer 2021, are not auspicious. Nuno\u2019s side have not won in the league since beating Burnley on November 8, while Spurs have not lost to West Ham since December 2023, when goals from club captain Jarrod Bowen and now-out-of-favour midfielder James Ward-Prowse sealed a 2-1 away victory.<\/p>\n \n James Ward-Prowse scored the last time West Ham beat Spurs more than two years ago (Ian Kington\/IKIMAGES\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That result came six months after the club had won the Europa Conference League final, with morale high under David Moyes\u2019 management. But the camaraderie of that \u2018band of brothers\u2019 era is now a distant memory. Well-placed club sources are concerned with Nuno\u2019s treatment of his players. He has exiled Ward-Prowse from the matchday squad and even from certain sessions at training.<\/p>\n Callum Wilson, the former England striker who joined as a free transfer in August after leaving Newcastle United, is in talks to leave following the arrivals of forward Pablo Felipe from Gil Vicente of Portugal, a deal worth \u20ac20million (\u00a317.4m; $23.4m), and Taty Castellanos from Italy\u2019s Lazio for an undisclosed fee.<\/p>\n Nuno intends to make more signings but is facing a battle to keep hold of Lucas Paqueta.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old Brazil international playmaker asked not to feature against Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round last weekend, a tie West Ham won 2-1 after extra time, due to his desire to return to his boyhood club, Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro. This week, The Athletic<\/em>\u00a0reported that West Ham had rejected a bid from Flamengo worth in the region of \u20ac35million (\u00a330.1m\/$40.6m at the current rates). The reigning South American champions\u2019 interest in Paqueta dates back to summer 2024, when they made an offer West Ham sources described as \u201claughable\u201d.<\/p>\n Paqueta, who joined West Ham from French club Lyon in August 2022 for an initial \u20ac43million, plus \u20ac17m in potential bonuses, has been valued at \u20ac60m. As the Brazilian top-flight season runs from late January to December, its transfer window doesn\u2019t close until March. West Ham sources have conceded Paqueta could be sold to Flamengo \u2014 but only if he then returns to the London Stadium on loan for the rest of the English season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a situation that all of us at the club have to solve,\u201d said Nuno in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. \u201cWe always want our best players to be involved and Lucas is one of our best players, so let\u2019s try to solve the situation. He needs to be (in the right mindset to play). You have to understand that many things happened with Lucas. Many things in the past. This problem that he had. The club have supported him through all these hard moments. First of all, he\u2019s a person. We have to take care of that now, and we are doing it. Let\u2019s wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Paqueta\u2019s long-term future remains uncertain, the board showed their faith in Nuno with the appointment of first-team coach Paco Jemez this week. When he was appointed, Nuno could not bring members of his backroom staff from Forest with him, except for goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa. Jemez held managerial roles at Spanish sides Las Palmas, Granada and Rayo Vallecano, and shared a dressing room with Nuno at Deportivo La Coruna in their playing days. He will work alongside fellow first-team coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were team-mates in the 1990s, so we\u2019ve known each other for many, many years,\u201d Nuno told reporters before the Spurs game. \u201cHe\u2019s a vocal guy, and we need all the help that we can get. As a coaching staff, we are working very hard and trying to do as much as we can. But Paco brings something that only Paco has.\u201d<\/p>\n This is one of the biggest games of the season, but its outcome is unlikely to define Nuno\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Victory over their London neighbours on Saturday would give West Ham supporters local bragging rights and a much-needed lift, but defeat would only see the uproarious pleas for a managerial change grow stronger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/01\/16083735\/GettyImages-1831282161-scaled.jpg\")
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