West Ham manager said the performance left him feeling lower than at any other point in his career
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has apologised to fans for the 3-0 loss to bottom club Wolves and said the performance was the worst he has ever experienced in football.
West Ham were beaten convincingly at Molineux by a side who had not won a single game or kept a clean sheet all season. Wolves had managed just three draws from 19 matches before Saturday to leave them marooned at the bottom of the table, almost certainly doomed to relegation.
With the chastening defeat, Nuno’s West Ham are now winless in nine games and four points from safety, with Nottingham Forest next up in a relegation six-pointer on Tuesday.
“I have to apologise to the fans, I have to apologise,” Nuno said. “We have to apologise to the fans, those that travelled today, it was embarrassing. There’s not much I can say other than we are sorry, we are sorry, because what we showed today was not good enough.”
The West Ham manager said the display left him feeling lower than at any other point in his career.
“We needed much more from our players,” Nuno said. “The way we started and the way we performed was very poor, it was embarrassing because I don’t recall one day that I felt so bad on a football pitch like today.”
West Ham failed to register a single shot on target against Wolves, compounding concerns about a team struggling for confidence and direction. Nuno pointed to repeated errors and a lack of reaction as key factors in the performance.
“It was a failure of many things, mistakes and not reacting to those mistakes, making mistakes and then a second mistake and over and over again,” West Ham’s boss said. “Not being able to control and create any situation of danger. I think we didn’t achieve one shot or goal, so that says a lot.”
Nuno, who took over from Graham Potter in September, has won just two of his 15 Premier League games in charge. He was so furious he walked straight down the tunnel at full time, ignoring opposition manager Rob Edwards.
Nuno has already been sacked once before this season, as Nottingham Forest manager in the opening weeks of the season. With West Ham spiralling at the bottom of the table and the prospect of Championship football next season looming, he could be facing a second sack this season.
The Portuguese insisted he still had the desire to carry on and that he was focused on lifting the team rather than on his own position.
“It’s not about my future,” Nuno said. “It’s about how we can get out of this situation, how we can improve and get the results that make us climb the table.
“We need to address the situation and be clear among ourselves that we need much more. What I saw today from our players is not good enough.”
