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Back-to-back wins – and maybe more importantly, both at home where we need to be strongest but where we have been nothing short of awful so often for so long - doesn’t mean our crisis is over. Not by a long way!

A quick glance at the Premier League table will tell you that. But there is at least some hope now, when not long ago there appeared to only be despair. There is still a long way to go, and a great deal can happen in that time.




Plenty can still go wrong – this is West Ham after all and we all know nothing is simple and straightforward where our club is concerned. But my feeling is Nuno Espirito Santo is getting a grip on it. The signs are encouraging, but he’s going to need help along the way to do the job we want him to do properly.

Talking after the recent Burnley game, the boss admitted he could have done without us allowing ourselves to fall behind relatively early for the second game in a row – but was happy once again with the fightback.

“We proved we want to be strong characters on the pitch,” he said, “and I believe the boys are slowly taking small steps to becoming a team.” It’s that team building, rather than depending on individuals which Nuno knows will be key to us moving forward.

For too long we’ve relied on the prowess of our captain to score goals and win games. Last Saturday was Jarrod’s 250th club appearance and to be fair it was possibly one of his most forgettable. That’s no criticism of him – simply an acknowledgement that it shouldn’t always be down to him.




He looked particularly out of sorts – but we still managed to score three times with goals from elsewhere. Exactly the same as the previous week – three goals and not one of the with the name Bowen alongside it. That has to be a healthy sign, in the grand scheme of things.

Tomas Soucek may not be a regular starter for us now in midfield with the emergence of Freddie Potts, and alongside him Mateus Fernandes showing just why Graham Potter was so desperate to sign him. Thankfully Potter’s determination triumphed over Sullivan’s endless dilly-dallying and transfer brinkmanship.

But Tommy has shown how effective he can be by coming on and scoring decisive goals at crucial times. Kyle Walker-Peters has also proved himself a very effective substitute when introduced by Nuno at vital times in games.

Even Igor Julio, who some may have thought we might never get to see in Premier League action, has been sent on to help shore up the defence in the closing stages of the last two games. It’s obvious Nuno needed time to work with the big man – to get to know him and recognise what he can add to the squad. Now he can use him to effect.

The manager created a ‘bigger picture’ of a squad of players at Nottingham Forest which proved vital to their success last season. It’s clear he’s working to the same blueprint with us!




While we all hope the recent improvement continues and we begin to climb the table, the big concern for me is David Sullivan will look at an improving picture and start thinking: ‘things are going okay. I won’t need to dig too deep’ when the January transfer window comes along.

That would be a typical reaction – one we’ve all seen before. But the totally wrong reaction! Nuno knows we need new recruits in key areas. If he identifies exactly who he wants Sullivan has to back him. We don’t need to hear a repeat of the old clap-trap that we’re skint and we have to sell before we can buy. But who would bet against it. Shorty is nothing if not predictable.

The international break has possibly come at the wrong time for us. Personally I hate them at any time! With West Ham winning their last two games and Bournemouth, our next opponents, losing their last two games, conceding seven and scoring just once, it might have been to our advantage to go to the Vitality Stadium without there being a two-week break.

But it is what it is and Nuno and the team have to deal with it. A decent performance and more importantly a point at least from our trip to the south coast will further strengthen the optimism which is finally beginning to grow at the club.

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