Nuno Espirito Santo's home debut with West Ham United was marred by a fan boycott and a VAR fail.
Portugese manager Nuno has taken the reins of the troubled London club after he was axed by Nottingham Forest following a fallout with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis in September.
He is yet to post a win after replacing Graham Potter and Tuesday's (AEDT) clash with Brentford was his first home game in charge.
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Nuno Espirito Santo of West Ham United looks on.
Nuno Espirito Santo of West Ham United looks on. Getty
But while the hiring of the well regarded Nuno got a big tick by the majority of Premier League observers, he was greeted by large swathes of empty seats as he took his place on the sidelines at London Stadium.
Supporters group Hammers United had called for a complete boycott of the game as disgust at the club's leadership hierarchy rages on.
The group have called for majority owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady to resign.
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Karren Brady, the vice Chairman of West Ham United, watches on.
Karren Brady, the vice Chairman of West Ham United, watches on. Getty
Speaking on Stan Sport's coverage, West Ham legend Joe Cole had sympathy for the fans' perspective.
"When you see something you don't like, the only way this world will respect you is if you stop buying the products and if you stop turning up," Cole said.
"The best way to protest against anything you don't like is you don't buy it. And they vote with their feet there, West Ham. They show their dissatisfaction.
Some West Ham United fans boycotted the Brentford match to voice their dissatisfaction with the club's owners.
Some West Ham United fans boycotted the Brentford match to voice their dissatisfaction with the club's owners. Stan
"It's sad when you see West Ham like this, for me, you know, it's always been a massive part of my life. It's the sort of club, I think, it's a very simple fix as well. Know what them fans want and you deliver it to them, everything will be all right."
West Ham are set for a fight to avoid relegation this season and entered the fixture 19th of 20 clubs.
Many supporters are still angry at the club's move from Upton Park to England's Olympic stadium in 2016.
Some West Ham United fans boycotted the Brentford match to voice their dissatisfaction with the club's owners.
Some West Ham United fans boycotted the Brentford match to voice their dissatisfaction with the club's owners. Stan
Upton Park has since been demolished and redeveloped for housing.
"We would like to welcome our new manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, and his coaching staff to the club and wish them all the very best as they work together to improve performances on the pitch and put West Ham United back on track," a Hammers United letter read.
"As you will no doubt be aware, prior to your arrival at the club, we launched the No More BS campaign which is calling for the resignations of Karren Brady and David Sullivan.
Tomas Soucek of West Ham United with blood on his face after a head injury.
Tomas Soucek of West Ham United with blood on his face after a head injury. Getty
"This campaign was not aimed at your predecessors; it is not aimed at you and your team, and we would like to take this opportunity to make it absolutely clear that you have our full support."
Another West Ham great, Matt Upson, was disappointed with the approach.
"I mean, for the fans to do that, a new manager with his first home game in the Premier League. I mean, it's the exact opposite message of what you'd want to send, isn't it? You want to get behind the new manager and the team," Upson said on Stan Sport.
Brentford led 1-0 at halftime as Igor Thiago took advantage of some lacklustre defence.
Thiago thought he had a second but it was overruled by VAR for offside.
The Premier League had to use the 'old fashioned' VAR method because of the global Amazon Web Services outage.
The old fashioned VAR review.
The old fashioned VAR review. Stan
The Premier League said the outage meant that the use of semi-automated offside technology was not available.
"If required, the VAR will use virtual offside lines as in previous seasons, to determine an offside decision," it said.
Cole lashed the first half as "the worst West Ham performance I've seen for a long, long time."
Jordan Henderson of Brentford looks on as bubbles fly.
Jordan Henderson of Brentford looks on as bubbles fly. Getty
Before the match, Nuno acknowledged the discontent among fans.
"I wish they are there. I wish. I hope that all our fans could join us and help us facing Brentford because it's going to be a very tough game," he said.
"Like I said, it is an honest reflection. It is up to us now to give back to the fans so they can come closer and support us. We as a squad and a group, we ignore, we try to ignore, focus on the tasks and perform and compete and play well so the fans can be there. That is what we are focused on."
MORE TO COME...