You have to hand it to West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo — he is nothing if not optimistic.
Over the last few weeks, the Hammers boss has seen his team climb out of the relegation zone, only to drop straight back into it, while his successor at Nottingham Forest, Vítor Pereira, has powered clear of trouble. At the same time, Tottenham have suddenly found form with back-to-back wins, and Leeds United are looking more like a side chasing Europe than one fighting for survival.
With Spurs still to play Chelsea — who many believe have already downed tools — the odds do seem to be stacking up against West Ham.
Nuno Refuses To Accept The Inevitable
However, Nuno is having none of it. The “Portugeezer” dusted himself down after the 3-0 defeat to Brentford at the weekend and insisted the season is heading for a dramatic conclusion.
Yes, that’s right — Espírito Santo still believes West Ham will have a chance of staying in the Premier League when Leeds United visit the London Stadium on the final day of the season.
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“We have three games to go. It will go down to the wire, the last game. We have to stick together.”
It’s a bold claim given the current state of play, but it’s exactly what you’d expect him to say to keep belief alive in a dressing room that’s taken a few hits over the last gameweek.
Final Day Or Bust For The Hammers
At this point, I’d take that scenario all day long.
Roberto De Zerbi’s new-look Tottenham face David Moyes’ Everton in their final Premier League fixture of the season. If West Ham can somehow go into the last day knowing that a win for the Hammers and a defeat for Spurs would be enough to keep us up, most fans would snap your hand off for it.
It might not be pretty. It might not be comfortable. But right now, survival going down to the final whistle at the London Stadium feels like the best we can realistically hope for.