Booed off at home after conceding a late winner to a relegation rival, and now stuck on a 10-game winless run, West Ham are staring into the abyss.
The Hammers have been a Premier League fixture since the 2012-13 season, but that long stay is now seriously under threat.
On Tuesday night, West Ham threw away a 1-0 lead and lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest, another side battling near the bottom. The defeat leaves them seven points from safety with 17 games left.
“We have to look in the mirror and understand the position we’re in,” midfielder Tomas Soucek said. “Nobody here wants to play in the second division next season.
“We need honesty between each other. The truth of who really cares and who doesn’t.”
From European Glory to Survival Fight
It’s been a brutal season for a club that lifted a European trophy in 2023. Fans were hoping the post-Christmas schedule might offer a turning point.
Home games against Fulham, Brighton and Nottingham Forest, plus a trip to bottom club Wolves, looked like a golden chance to climb out of trouble.
Instead, West Ham collected just one point from a possible 12. Even that came in a chaotic 2-2 draw with Brighton, where they twice surrendered the lead.
They conceded late against Fulham, were thrashed 3-0 by Wolves, and once again lost after scoring first against Forest, with Morgan Gibbs-White’s 89th-minute penalty sealing their fate.
At half-time on Tuesday, West Ham were just one point from safety. By full-time, they were cut adrift and facing a huge uphill battle.
Grim Stats and Growing Pressure
The numbers only deepen the gloom.
This is the first time West Ham have gone 10 Premier League games without a win since a run of 11 between December 2006 and March 2007.
Only Bournemouth have dropped more points from winning positions this season, while West Ham have now failed to win their last five games when scoring first.
Manager Nuno Espírito Santo, appointed after Graham Potter was sacked in September, has collected 11 points from 16 league matches. It’s the worst start for any West Ham boss in the Premier League era.
His only league wins — back-to-back victories over Newcastle and Burnley in November — already feel like a distant memory.
Former West Ham and England goalkeeper Rob Green believes change may be inevitable.
“Ten games without a win, you start asking where the answers are,” he told Sky Sports. “Where do West Ham go now? Where does Nuno go from here?
“They need at least 30 points to have any chance of staying up, and they’re nowhere near that pace.
“I don’t see Nuno staying. It’s looking more and more like an impossible task.”
‘Not Over Yet’ – Nuno Refuses to Quit
Despite the mounting pressure, Nuno remains defiant.
“It’s not over yet,” he said. “We have to keep believing and sticking together.
“There are good moments and bad moments in football. You need resilience. We understand the fans’ frustration — we feel it too.”
West Ham, who have just 14 points all season, now face London derbies away to Tottenham and Chelsea, with a tough home clash against Sunderland sandwiched in between.
Soucek insisted the squad is still behind the manager.
“We have to support him until the end,” he said. “He’s experienced in the Premier League. For him, for ourselves, and for the fans, we need to stick together.”
Board Still Backing Nuno – For Now
Behind the scenes, Nuno’s position is under intense scrutiny.
While frustration is growing among fans and pundits, the club’s owners are still backing the Portuguese coach — at least for the moment.
The board has supported him in the transfer market, with January signings Pablo Felipe and Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos both brought in at Nuno’s request.
Sacking a manager so soon after backing his signings would be a drastic move. But with relegation looming and a seven-point gap to safety, patience may soon run out.
For West Ham, the question is no longer whether they’re in a fight — but whether they’ve left it too late to survive.
