Nuno speaks amid West Ham ‘losing faith in him’ and dislike him embracing Forest players

Nuno Espirito Santo speaks amid a report that West Ham are ‘losing faith in him’ and dislike him embracing Nottingham Forest players.

According to The Guardian, the Hammers are growing increasingly concerned about Nuno’s ability of preventing the club from relegation, following a 2-1 defeat at home to his former club on Tuesday night, extending their winless run to 10 games.

Jacob Steinberg writes that club figures are unhappy with Nuno’s post-match behaviour, seen talking with the likes of Hudson-Odoi, Morato and Morgan Gibbs-White while on the pitch.

The result leaves West Ham sitting 18th in the Premier League, 7 points from safety, with West Ham remain reluctant to sack him, which if they did, it would be their second managerial dismissal this season, having already got rid of Graham Potter.

The final decision on Nuno’s future depends on major shareholder David Sullivan, wary of the compensation costs involved.

Upcoming fixtures against QPR in the FA Cup, then Tottenham in the league) could prove decisive, and if they suffer defeat to Spurs, it could spell the end of his time in charge. The report also states that Slaven Bilic os a potential returnee.

Boos ring around the London Stadium after West Ham lose to Nottingham Forest 🔊 pic.twitter.com/k6jQSz5gaC

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 6, 2026

West Ham are losing faith in Nuno and disliked him embracing Forest’s players on Monday #whufc https://t.co/01FB0LJJqB

— Jacob Steinberg 🎗️ (@JacobSteinberg) January 9, 2026

NUNO’S PRESS CONFERENCE:

On Wan-Bissaka, after his involvement at AFCON: “Yeah, he was here today in the building, did a light session, he was travelling, he’s okay, he’s okay. A little bit sad that he went away but happy to be back.

In terms of the Forest game, league position, how hard is it to pick the players up: “Yeah, but it’s tough, it’s a tough situation that we are, we are aware, but at the same time is realising that there are 17 games to go, it’s a lot of football to be played and what we have to do is focus now on ourselves, on our day to day and look for that win, for that win that we need. Don’t be obsessed about the gap, try to avoid, if you start looking every time at the table then you get more anxious, so let’s try to focus on ourselves and what we have to do to compete in 17 games in the league. I believe it’s possible.

Regarding his focus for players not to think about that gap: Now we have the FA Cup to focus on and then next week we will prepare Tottenham, but the approach must be focus on ourselves, what we have to do and believe there is a lot of football to be played, 17 games is a lot of games.

Transfer wise, you said last week when you talked about Pablo and Taty that they were brave in joining this club, I think the position that it’s in at the moment, is it harder in the window to attract players when the club is where it is, does that make it more difficult to make it?

Nuno replied: No, what we have to make sure is that the players that join us come with a purpose, come to help, like I think we saw in Taty and Pablo, talented and more than anything really fighting and trying to help the team, this is the main objective, besides the quality and the talent of the player, he has to be motivated and committed to join us.

There’s no signings coming back early in January, I know it’s only been a few days since, but we haven’t heard anything in terms of incomes happening?

Nuno: It’s good that he’s joined here, it’s too many things, but we are working hard as a club to train and bring players.

Is there a feeling when you speak to the people who are involved in transfers, like a stick or twist, do you really go for it in January? Because potentially relegation could be on the cards, I know you said there’s a lot of games left, but there is a possibility, so what’s the balance in terms of do we stick with what we’ve got or do we really try?

Nuno: No, we need to rebalance our squad, it’s clear, and we need to bring players that can make us stronger for the fight. That’s the main objective that we have as a club, to bring players that can help us because we are here to fight. It’s not thinking about the future, it’s not thinking about anything, it’s thinking about who can join us and help us.

In terms of those players, how much does character come into it? Because it seems like this team has sometimes struggled with setbacks, when the second goal against Nottingham Forest, the one that was scored, then disallowed, that felt like a real big moment in the stadium. Do you need players now with the character to deal with setbacks like that?

Nuno: There’s nobody that can react differently on a setback like that. You’ll change the history of the game. We scored, we were delighted, it seems like because we were playing good and competing really well, and we got the advantage of two goals, it’s almost like we felt that it’s job done. Then VAR takes it out, it’s sad, but the team reacted. Unfortunately, we conceded, but after that, again, we had chances to go back in the game, and unfortunately, in the end, it happened. We can speak about the reason behind our loss, but there are things that we can’t control. Unfortunately, it’s not because of referees that we are in this situation, but things are going against us in many moments. It’s tough to explain to our players why the game went away.

In terms of players leaving, you talked last time a little bit about Callum Wilson. He wasn’t in the squad for the Nottingham Forest game. Is there any update on Callum and if he’ll be leaving soon?

Nuno: I cannot say. What I say is that eventually there are players that have to leave, and we are being very direct and honest for them to look at the best options. For example, George is joining. I don’t know if I can tell, but it seems that he needs to play.

If he needs to play, he needs minutes to develop. We are trying to find out the best solutions for all our players. Is James Ward-Prowse somebody on that list? He’s a really experienced player. He’s played a lot of Premier League games and obviously he’s not getting a look-in. Is he someone you think you’ll have to have that conversation with?

Nuno: No, it’s clear. The situation with James is clear since some time ago. I think he’s not in the options and he’s trying to find the best solution for his future.

Nuno responds to sack calls and boos while West Ham fume over two crucial VAR decisions

The best solution for his future? Will that be playing elsewhere?

Nuno: I believe so. Meanwhile, he’s here, he’s one of us, and we are trying to prepare all of them.

Just a last player I want to talk about. Hermansen. Just because he joined for a considerable fee in the summer, he’s found himself out of the team now. I think we believe that he’s in the market for another goalkeeper. Is he somebody, again, that an honest conversation has to happen with him and he could potentially be leaving?

Nuno: Yeah, we have honest conversations with all the players when it’s the right moment. We had a conversation with Mads. We still have the game to prepare. We still have to decide if he plays or not against QPR. But he’s here working with us.

That goal that was disallowed, how much of a big moment do you think that would have been for Summerville? Because it seems that everything was going right for him apart from maybe scoring in that game.

Nuno: For his confidence, it will be important, but he’s still looking for that goal. It’s not about only the goals. It’s how he plays. He’s a talented player that needs to exploit better his actions, and we are trying. We are trying, of course. That goal means a lot for him and for us.

The FA Cup, does it provide a good distraction for you at the moment, or is it kind of hard to focus on that when things are so precarious? The league obviously is the priority. How does that kind of feel?

Nuno: It’s a good chance. It’s a good chance to win a football match that we need. Because everything is different when you win. You recover faster. You are more happy. So it’s not about now having a chance to win a football match against a tough team in a competition that we appreciate a lot.