West Ham told to sack 'infuriating' Nuno and swoop for ex-Burnley boss | OneFootball

The Hammers' winless return to the Championship continued on Saturday at Vicarage Road

West Ham United have been told to give Nuno Espírito Santo time to avert the club's fortunes despite an 'infuriating' and winless return to the Championship.

The Hammers were pinpointed as the Championship's pre-season title favourites given the strength of their squad on paper, as well as the Portuguese's experience of winning the division eight years ago with a star-studded Wolves squad.

Despite an intriguing summer of transfer activity which has only included a handful of arrivals at the London Stadium, this very much remained the case.

Yet, despite progressing into the third round of the EFL Cup, West Ham have taken just two points from the first nine available, with a home defeat to Charlton Athletic sandwiched between away draws against Burnley and Watford.

Following the 1-1 draw against the Hornets at Vicarage Road, footage emerged from the away end with supporters clearly disgruntled with Nuno, who made a quick turn for the tunnel after a brief applause was met with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning."

As such, Football League World's West Ham fan pundit, Ryan Horn, has outlined whether the 52-year-old should be retained, or whether the hierarchy in E20 should look elsewhere.

West Ham urged to give Nuno 'more time' despite winless Championship start

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Nuno, of course, replaced Graham Potter 12 months ago after a disastrous start to the Premier League season, and whilst results eventually improved under his lead, the Hammers were relegated with 39 points - the highest figure a side has done so with in 15 years.

However, momentum is yet to be gathered this season despite a 4-1 win at Southampton in the EFL Cup last Tuesday with a youthful side, and after a winless league start, they face off against Wolves on Tuesday night.

Reflecting on Nuno's predicament, Horn told FLW: "I did see it, and I've seen the stuff on social media.

"I don't like 'fence-sitting' at all, but I think he needs a bit more time. We're bringing in more players, but the fact that he hasn't figured out his formation yet and he's been at the club for that long.

We've got no clear tactics. It's infuriating. It really is. We're bringing in players, so I hope that with more new signings that he can finally figure out what he wants to do, but he's too defensive-minded. It just doesn't make sense," he added.

"1-1 in the final minutes of the game, they're (Watford) knackered, we're all over them. Do you bring on the youngster (Joshua Ajala) who scored two goals against a strong Southampton side in the cup? No, he brings on a left-back.

"It just seems that there's no urgency, there's no desire to win from him. We brought in a coach last season after winter and then we started playing attacking football, we started making attacking subs, and then he left. I think I saw Nuno's win rate without him is like 25, whereas with him, I think it was like in the 60s," Horn stated.

"But I think given till the end of September, I think if we get a drubbing in our next game, he's gone. It really does depend on how this next game reacts. If it's 'rinse and repeat' like it has been since he came in, then he's gone."

West Ham told how they can replace Nuno Espirito Santo

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It was confirmed in June that Nuno was going to stay with West Ham after initial considerations over his immediate future, but now supporters are already growing more and more frustrated, attention has already turned as to who could replace him.

Craig Bellamy was heavily linked with a return to Burnley before the club appointed Nicky Hayen, whilst former Hammers midfielder, Scott Parker, has also been earmarked by Horn as a potential candidate given his record of four promotions from the Championship.

"We can't wait forever like we did last time, because if we had got rid of Potter earlier, ironically, I think we could have stayed up with Nuno," our fan pundit continued.

"It is really tough. But who would I bring in? Craig Bellamy, the Wales coach. I wouldn't mind Scott Parker. My dream manager was Michael Carrick for so long, and then he got the Man United job.

"I was kind of hoping Man United would make a bad decision and not keep him on at the end of last season, but they chose to, because I would have loved him at West Ham.

"I'm hoping our new directors can find that 'hidden coach' out there, like what Brighton do or Bournemouth have just done, the coach who isn't on everyone's radar straight away. I think that would be a nice change," he claimed.

September could decide Nuno's West Ham future

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Unsurprisingly, whilst transfer links have continued heading towards Tuesday's 11PM deadline, regardless of any further activity, the block of fixtures before the Championship's first international break of the season could define Nuno's future at West Ham.

As previously mentioned, Wolves have started by far the better out of last season's newly-relegated sides with an unbeaten start under Cesar Peixoto, before the Irons face off against Derby County, Bolton Wanderers and Wrexham - all of whom have had mixed starts to their respective campaigns.

Then, after a EFL Cup clash with Fulham is the Dockers derby against Millwall at The Den on Saturday, September 19th.

The Lions finished in the play-offs last season, and despite a 5-1 hammering at Southampton, had made a strong start to the campaign beforehand.