Nuno Espirito Santo is losing the confidence of the West Ham dressing room with squad morale ‘rapidly deteriorating’, according to reports.
The Hammers sacked Graham Potter at the end of September and replaced the Englishman with former Nottingham Forest and Wolves boss Nuno.
However, the Portuguese head coach has won just two of his 15 matches in charge of the east London club with pressure building on the 51-year-old to turn it around.
West Ham lost 3-0 to the Premier League’s bottom side Wolves on Saturday in an embarrassing defeat for the Hammers and they remain in the relegation zone, four points adrift of safety.
That result led to Nuno coming out and apologise to the West Ham fans who travelled to Wolverhampton and hit out at the “embarrassing” first-half display.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Nuno said: “Nobody expected us to play so bad. A real poor performance today.
“I wish I could answer properly [why]. Now is the moment for us to reflect and think are we doing everything we can? Do we realise the situation we are in? And how to get out of this situation and improve. There are things that need to be addressed.
“The first half was embarrassing. I apologise to our fans who travelled. This is not what we want to show them.”
The January transfer window is in full flow and the situation could turn around quickly if West Ham can bring in some transfers to ease the pressure on Nuno.
When asked about transfers, Nuno replied: “It is a complex situation. The club is working on that situation [transfers]. We have problems in terms of squad and options but that is not a justification for what we did in the first half – the mistakes we made, the lack of effort… it was very bad. It was about mistakes we made over and over again that was really poor.
“Nottingham Forest will be a tough game but now is about reacting and transforming and improving.”
And reporter for The Guardian, Jacob Steinberg, understands ‘that the mood at the London Stadium is rapidly deteriorating’ with Nuno ‘in danger of losing the support of West Ham’s squad because of concerns over his man-management and tactics’.
Steinberg adds: ‘Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation have described Nuno as distant and uncommunicative on a day-to-day basis, while it is understood that there is frustration over confusing training methods and team selections. Morale is slipping and what is perceived as a lack of clear communication has left some players feeling that they have no way of forcing their way into the Portuguese’s plans.’
It is claimed that Nuno has ‘barely spoken to some players’ since joining in September with some players in his West Ham squad ‘feel alienated’, while others have been played out of position.
Against Wolves, it is understood that the Portuguese head coach ‘said little to rouse his players when they found themselves 3-0 down at half-time’.
Despite that, the West Ham ‘board remain reluctant to make their second sacking of a disastrous season’ after backing Nuno in the transfer market.
Steinberg continues: ‘Yet the fact that West Ham’s recruitment is being led by Nuno’s requests is seen as a sign that the club are not about to make an imminent change.’