“_We were really close_” claimed [Nuno Espírito Santo](https://www.claretandhugh.info/a-team-of-fighters-west-ham-find-their-bite-nuno-sees-new-spirit-in-relegation-battle/) after West Ham’s goalless draw signalled two points lost and an opportunity to draw level with Nottingham Forest dissolved in the London Stadium rain last night. The chances to ‘escape’ the relegation zone will diminish as the number of games ticks down and for West Ham, this may be one of those small signposts on the way to relegation that only become apparent when viewed in hindsight.
Despite the gloom, the [guardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/feb/21/west-ham-bournemouth-premier-league-match-report) manages to find an upbeat tone to their prognosis:
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_“Their side’s continued resurgence does provide some encouragement for the home fans, however. From a position of hopelessness in mid-January, West Ham have lost just one of their last six league games, and the gap to a safe position is down to two points, at least until Nottingham Forest host Liverpool on Sunday._
_That is something to take heart from despite the fact they largely overwhelmed a Bournemouth side whose unbeaten run extends to seven league games.”_
Of course, as a snapshot of current form, that may be true. Hermansen unrecognisable from the shaky, flappy keeper of September. A back four that can stay solid all ninety minutes. Nuno has done a great job of fixing the broken West Ham defence.
But without winning six of the next eleven, financial disaster and second tier football awaits. As the storm clouds grow bigger in the boardroom ahead of the seemingly inevitable thunderstorm which lies ahead, events on the pitch might just not be enough to turn Nuno into West Ham’s saviour.
Much depends on Liverpool, this week and next. Which is a perilous state of affairs.
Nuno’s words start to sound like an epitaph for the season:
_“That is the feeling that stays with us – that we feel it is almost there for us to take – and we didn’t take it.”_