As the Hammers’ attempts to escape the clutches of the relegation zone enter a crucial phase, more attention is focused on how the apparent transformation- that has seen them go from Premier League whipping boys to one of the form sides this year- has come about.
Nuno’s right hand man Paco Jemez
Modesty appears to be one of West Ham’s assistant manager’s more endearing traits. From outside it is easy to see that the arrival of Paco Jemez midway through January has had a huge impact. But Nuno’s right hand man is keen to gloss over his own involvement, claiming instead that finally something has ‘clicked’ between the team and the head coach.
According to today’s sportwitness.co.uk:
“West Ham United assistant manager Paco Jémez believes the players are finally buying into Nuno Espirito Santo ideas.”
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Jémez can see plenty of positive signs, and believes the squad is now buying in to their ideas.
“We were in a very bad run, we were seven points behind, however, in the last few matches the team has shown signs of life.
They’ve picked up the pace, they’ve believed in what they’re doing, tweaking a few things without making major changes. If we continue like this, I’m convinced that the team will move up the table and we won’t be the ones who get relegated.”
It shouldn’t be forgotten that some of these players are now under their fourth coaching regime inside two years. A little stability may go a long way to help the squad develop but it is no coincidence that Jemez’ arrival started the upturn in West Ham’s fortunes.
The Hammers’ points per match record has risen significantly 1.4 from 0.67, while they’re also scoring more goals, conceding less and have a significantly better win rate too since Jemez arrived.
Credit to Nuno for recognising the dire need for help and taking action:
“The 55-year-old arrived at West Ham in the middle of January. Espirito Santo reportedly sent out out a plea to get him onboard for their relegation battle.”
There is an iron determination within this group for, whoever speaks, this absolute certainty that the side will avoid relegation is clearly being rammed home ( Mateus Fernandes today stated exactly the same thing ).
Judging from last night’s encounter with fourth placed Manchester United, their positivity may be well founded if the side can stop dropping points: The next area to focus on, I guess, in the game of coaching wac-a-mole that sees one problem fixed at the expense of another.