The West Ham boss takes his struggling side to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Friday.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo will continue to experiment with his side after an ‘alarming’ start to life in charge at the London Stadium.
The Hammers head to Leeds United on Friday having taken just one point from three games since welcoming the Portuguese head coach to East London. A 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Monday was their fourth in a row at home and could easily have been worse, with the away side missing a hatful of chances to increase their advantage.
Espirito Santo’s team selection for that defeat drew questions, with left-back Ollie Scarles and right-back Kyle Walker-Peters each playing on their unnatural sides, while No.9 Callum Wilson was benched with Lucas Paqueta leading the line. The Hammers boss then made three half-time substitutions, switching to a back-three.
Leeds cannot be sure what kind of West Ham they will welcome to Elland Road on Friday, with Espirito Santo still looking at different approaches in a bid to turn the tide. But the Hammers boss has urged patience among the fanbase as he tries to get the best out of his struggling squad.
“It’s alarming everybody. It’s there to see,” Espirito Santo told Sky Sports ahead of Friday’s meeting with Leeds. “The team has to be able to sustain longer, be more consistent in our performances, not being up and then this big low. Individually and as a team we have to get better.
“I believe we have to have a different approach so that we can look for success because what was behind [before] was not quite there… I’ve found a group of people – not only the squad, the club – determined to change and improve. But now we have to be patient. Each and every one of us, in their own department. We cannot expect things to happen just like that.”
Nuno’s West Ham hope for Leeds United clash
Such patience is all well and good but like Leeds, West Ham need results now. Even in West Yorkshire where performances have been much better, there is a growing feeling that it will count for nothing if poor finishing and defensive lapses continue to cost Daniel Farke’s side vital points.
Meetings with fellow bottom-half sides are already being viewed as crucial, given the gap in quality when looking further up the table, and the manner of West Ham’s defeat to Brentford will be of huge concern in East London. Espirito Santo hopes the ‘click’ he wanted on Monday will show at Elland Road but admits his side need to force the issue.
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“That’s what we expected from Monday, to have this click,” he added. “It didn’t happen. Let’s go, Friday it can be [that]. You are always searching but it's not expecting things to happen. We have to make actions that bring us the success that we need.”
Leeds will hope Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk can recover from illness to feature, the pair having missed training on Wednesday. Noah Okafor (adductor) and Willy Gnonto (hernia surgery) are both doubts while 17-year-old striker Harry Gray is back available after hip flexor issues.
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