Nuno Espirito Santo insists West Ham’s fighting spirit is ‘non-negotiable’ | OneFootball

Nuno Espirito Santo insisted West Ham showing some fight in the Premier League relegation battle is “non-negotiable”.

Captain Jarrod Bowen claimed after the 2-2 draw with Brighton that it was the first time he had seen some “emotion and fight” from his team-mates.

The Hammers were leading 2-1 and, with Nottingham Forest losing against Everton, could have cut the gap to safety to just two points.

Given that Forest are the next visitors to the London Stadium, West Ham’s prospects would have suddenly looked a lot brighter.

But Joel Veltman scrambled home an equaliser to leave the Hammers still in deep trouble and without a win in their last eight matches.

Hammers boss Nuno said: “We felt it. We wanted to play today, so we can put things right. We are chasing our improvement.

“We are chasing a win, desperately, to give back to our fans, so we can feel everybody. To make more of reality in terms of performance, transforming our results, which are getting away from us.

“But the reaction, we cannot say anything about the team spirit of these boys, the way they help each other.

“That’s non-negotiable. It should be every game like this. You cannot talk and be surprised by this. It has to be something that is part of us.”

Bowen put West Ham ahead before Danny Welbeck scored one penalty and missed a second.

Lucas Paqueta gave away the second spot-kick when he rugby tackled Lewis Dunk, yet when the Brighton captain was adjudged to have handled the ball the Brazilian stepped up to restore West Ham’s lead.

It took a lengthy VAR check to penalise Dunk, whose arm was away from his body when he blocked Callum Wilson’s goalbound shot, and Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler was not convinced.

“No one can say that’s a clear hand, the VAR footage is not clear enough so it’s just a guess,” the German said.

“In the best league in the world, to make a decision just on a guess, I think that’s not possible.”

Welbeck was deadly with his first penalty, but his attempted ‘Panenka’ backfired when it came back off the crossbar.

Luckily for him, Brighton equalised from a corner when Alphonse Areola’s punch landed at the feet of the unmarked Veltman for a simple finish.

“Danny made his decision,” added Hurzeler. “If he executes it well everyone says it’s a great penalty in a pressure situation. Therefore he has our support. There is no criticism.”