The defeat cost the Hammers a chance to play at Wembley this season, but Santo now wants his players to clear their heads and focus on their relegation battle when they face Wolves on Friday night.
The Hammers are still in the regulation zone, one point behind Spurs with seven league games to go.
Speaking at his weekly pre match press conference Santo said: “It was a couple of difficult days. We had a belief and hope of reaching Wembley. We tried and put a lot of fight. But now we are out we must move forward and realise that our major fight is to stay up.”
Santo also praised the work Rob Edwards has done at Wolves since he took over in November and recognises that they have improved since his arrival.
He said: “It will be a tough game. They are a team that are improving. You can see they are a team that is getting better.”
Santo also played down the reports of a rift between the fans and Max Killman. The West Ham centre back gave away a penalty against Leeds, and the home fans booed him.
Santo said: “In terms of the fans, they ate giving a lot to the team. But I think Max had a good game. He did a lot of good things in possession, dual battles and fight.
“I truly believe the fans understand the situation and we need them for the last seven games. I hope they trust us and support us on Friday.
“We have been under pressure since the beginning because we are under constant scrutiny. We are aware that people could lose their jibs if we get relegated.”
West Ham have won their last five Premier League home games against Wolves. Only against Blackburn (9 from 1996 to 2008), Middlesbrough (7 from 2000 to 2009), and Sunderland (6 from 2002 to 2010) have they won more consecutively in the competition.