The evidence that shows Nuno Espirito Santo is the right man for West Ham | OneFootball

Magic in the Midlands suggests new Hammers boss can have a big impact

Nuno Espirito Santo has just finished holding court at a table filled with the media at Molineux. He rises to leave the executive box in the Billy Wright Stand. It’s the day of his appointment as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ boss - May 31, 2017.

The previous five years had seen a relegation to League One and five different managers in the hot-seat.

The air is heavy with scepticism. Ten months later, Nuno won the Championship - at a canter.

Nuno failed at Tottenham but produced impressive work at Wolves and Nottingham Forest

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Wolves then qualified for Europe, reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and contested the quarter-final of the Europa League.

It was fair to say the man from the tiny island of Sao Tome and Principe, off the coast of east Africa, had lived up to his word.

Of course, he enjoyed significant help in the shape of super-agent Jorge Mendes, who formed an alliance with the Black Country club, pushing players who would otherwise have been off-limits.

But to dismiss Nuno as merely being the beneficiary of that would be unfair.

For example, Conor Coady was a jobbing midfielder in the lower reaches of the second tier.

During the first week of pre-season training, the manager saw something in the Merseysider he liked. The former Liverpool trainee dropped back into the middle of a back three.

Coady had always struck a sweet pass and showed leadership potential. By the time Nuno finished with him, he was captain. He was selected for England and travelled as part of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad to Qatar.

The former Porto keeper is not wedded to one philosophy.

He was afforded the legacy of a 4-2-3-1 formation by outgoing Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper midway through a season.

He stuck with it. Then, he honed it during what turned out to be his only full campaign in charge.

With Callum Hudson-Odoi on one side and Anthony Elanga on the other. Forest set up 35 yards from their own goal - Nuno recognised his two centre-backs were not overly blessed with pace and generally profited on the break.

The result? The club occupied third place for four months of the season and missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day.

So, what West Ham supporters will see is square pegs placed in square holes - and that may come as a blessed relief after the muddled machinations of Graham Potter.

West Ham host Brentford in a Nuno’s first home game after the international break

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But there’s more to Nuno than that.

On the evidence of his work in the Midlands, he does evoke a strong sense of loyalty.

Coady was a convert, no question. Perhaps the manager’s undoing at Spurs was because the players there weren’t so easily impressed. Forest’s were.

One of Nuno’s gripes against the owner of the City Ground club, Evangelos Marinakis, was that he didn’t have time to build his “family” during pre-season.

That is important to him. It was noticeable after the final whistle at the Hill Dickinson Stadium that skipper Jarrod Bowen said the first messages had been one of simplicity.

And the proof of his approach was seen on the pitch as West Ham came from behind to draw 1-1 with Everton. So, it will be surprising if there is any schism in the Hammers’ dressing-room mainly because the 51-year-old is a tactile character. He is very tight with his backroom staff.

But while Nuno has a simplicity in his approach, with tactics, relationships and football in general, he’s a multi-layered individual.

One of the reasons why he remains so fondly remembered at Molineux is because he donated £250,000 of his own money to the club’s foundation to help people who were struggling, post-Covid.

His last car was an orange Mini. He drove the one-mile trip from Forest’s training ground to his pre-match press conference at the City Ground, mainly because it afforded him the chance for him to sneak in a cigarette.

He was pictured during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai last season, diving from a high board.

He admitted afterwards he took too many chances throwing himself from the rocks as a young boy - and paid the price.

By the way, he’s not a saint. All this does paint a certain picture. He can be grumpy and off-hand when he’s in a bad mood, particularly after a defeat. But then, can’t we all?

However, one thing is certain: In terms of the overwhelming body of evidence from the past eight years, it’s clear Hammers’ owner David Sullivan could have chosen a lot worse.