60 seconds on West Ham | Roshane Thomas, The Athletic | OneFootball

Welcome back to '60 seconds on...' a our match preview with the pundits who know our opponents inside out.

Next up, our old rivals from E20 make the trip across town to N17 as we take on West Ham in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (3pm UK) - and that meant a second quick call of the season to Roshane Thomas - @RoshaneSport - West Ham correspondent at The Athletic...

We know what this game means to both sets of fans, but just how big is this latest edition?

Roshane: “It's certainly a massive game. West Ham's recent form has brought a lot of scrutiny on Nuno (Espirito Santo), given there's been no new manager bounce, and the club are several points from safety (18th, seven points adrift of Forest). There’s a lot riding on this game. I know we had the FA Cup win against QPR and that was supposed to be, hopefully, the much-needed victory that could change things for West Ham, but the team is on a tough run of form, struggling defensively, and all those factors could well show up again on Saturday.”

You’ve watched every minute – can you put your finger on why West Ham have struggled this season?

Roshane: “Yeah, it’s a number of reasons. I'll start with the defence. The defence hasn’t been great, in all honesty. Regardless of who Graham Potter or Nuno have played – Kilman, Mavropanos, Todibo – they’ve just struggled for consistency. West Ham rank high for goals conceded from set pieces (most goals conceded with 43, highest from set pieces with 18, including 12 from corners) – that’s been a regular theme this season – and teams are preying on that. It’s a key factor why West Ham need to find a centre-back in this transfer window, they need a new addition in there just to help them. There is also a lack of leaders. Jarrod Bowen is a fantastic player who will go down as a West Ham legend, but I don’t think captaincy comes naturally to him. There’s a lack of players who will step up in terms of being a leader. In the summer, there was a big overhaul with Mikel Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal all released and they were big characters, they all played big roles in lifting the morale. That's definitely been another factor.”

What have you made of the new signings Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe?

Roshane: “I'll start off with Taty Castellanos. He runs around a lot. I'd say he's the sort of player that will work hard. Obviously, his goal against QPR in the FA Cup will hopefully give him some confidence between now and the end of the season. He has the number 11 shirt and the two previous January signings, Jesse Lingard and Kalvin Phillips, both had that shirt. Lingard had an incredible spell at West Ham (nine goals in 16, 2020/21) and played a big role in the club securing European football, whereas Phillips was the opposite – so a lot of West Ham fans were like, ‘okay, give Taty the 11 shirt, let's see what destiny he has between now and May’. I've been encouraged by what I've seen from him so far. He works hard, chases lost causes, and that's what you want to see between now and the end of season, someone who's going to work hard for the team. Hopefully he has an impact like a Carlos Tevez type of role, he made a big difference in the ‘great escape’ of 2006/07. In terms of Pablo Felipe, he's come off the bench recently, hasn't started yet, we’ve seen a few neat touches and he had a role to play in Castellanos’ goal against QPR, so hopefully, in the coming weeks, they’ll both show why West Ham signed them.”

How do you think it will pan out on Saturday?

Roshane: “West Ham fans are absolutely disappointed about what they’ve seen this season. There have been so many disjointed performances and the worry for fans is Tottenham could win this with an early goal. That'll pretty much make heads drop for West Ham, because what's happened in other games is the other team score and then West Ham lose all confidence.”

Regardless of Saturday – how do West Ham go about pulling themselves out of trouble?

Roshane: “As I mentioned, hopefully someone like Taty Castellanos can have a big impact between now and May, but I feel they have to sign a centre-back to help stop the rot defensively. Teams are preying on West Ham’s frailty defensively and I don’t see that changing with the personnel available right now. They just need someone who is an old-school centre-back like Gary Cahill, Craig Dawson, who did the basics, and fans loved him. That's the sort of profile that West Ham need right now.”

Last time we met...