Nuno Espirito Santo made it clear in his interview with Sky Sports on Friday that his team still has a significant task ahead, even after the 4-0 victory over Wolves that lifted West Ham out of the relegation zone. He stressed that the club must keep its focus on each individual match rather than getting distracted by the league table. "We still have a big mission to accomplish, a hard job to do," he said, adding that the players need to treat every game as a separate battle.
This mindset, he explained, should remain unchanged regardless of Tottenham's draw with Brighton, a result that guarantees West Ham will stay clear of the bottom three before their upcoming Monday Night Football clash with Crystal Palace. Nuno's advice to "ignore the table and focus on what we have to do game by game" is a pragmatic approach that aims to keep his squad grounded. While the manager’s words are sensible, they also reflect the optimism that West Ham supporters can now feel.
The club’s recent resurgence has been both dramatic and impressive. On 6 January, after a defeat to Nottingham Forest, the Hammers were seven points adrift of safety and thirteen points behind Tottenham.
Since then, five wins in eleven league fixtures have propelled them above the safety line, effectively transforming the team into a new, revitalised side. The transformation has been driven by a thorough overhaul of the squad during the winter transfer window. Players such as Lucas Paquetá, James Ward‑Prowse, Guido Rodríguez, Andriy Irvin, George Eddie, Luis Guilherme and Niclas Fullkrug departed, while new faces including Axel Disasi, Taty Castellanos, Pablo Felip, Adama Traoré and Keiber Lamadrid arrived.
Nuno explained that the club deliberately reduced the overall squad size and re‑balanced the roster to better suit the tactical approach he wants to employ in the second half of the season. "We reduced the numbers in terms of players and rebalanced our squad in terms of positions," he said, noting that this restructuring aligns with a fresh strategic vision for the campaign's latter stages. Statistically, the shift in playing style is evident. From the start of the season until mid‑January, West Ham ranked near the bottom of the league in several offensive metrics: 17th for goals per game, 19th for big chances created, and 16th for possession.
After the window, the team has surrendered possession – now sitting at the very bottom of the league in that category – but has become far more potent in attack, climbing to sixth place for both goals per game and big chances created. The defensive side has also improved; since goalkeeper Mads Hermansen returned to the starting XI and loan signing Disasi fortified the back line, the Hammers have kept four clean sheets in their last eight Premier League matches. Set‑piece defending, once a glaring weakness, has also seen a marked improvement. In the previous 21 games the club had allowed twelve goals from dead‑ball situations, whereas in the last eleven fixtures they have conceded only three, all of which came in a single encounter with Liverpool.
This reduction highlights the coaching staff’s focus on drilling defensive organization during set pieces. Perhaps the most critical factor behind West Ham’s resurgence, according to Nuno, is the growing sense of unity within the squad. "If I can point to one particular aspect, I think everybody realised that we have to come together in the same objective," he said.
He emphasized that football is fundamentally a collective endeavour, involving not just the players but also the coaching staff, club employees and supporters. The sense of togetherness was on full display during the FA Cup quarter‑final against Leeds United, where West Ham fought back from a 2‑0 deficit in stoppage time to force extra time and ultimately a penalty shoot‑out.
Although they eventually fell short, the comeback demonstrated the team’s refusal to give up. Nuno praised captain Jarrod Bowen for embodying that fighting spirit. Bowen struck the woodwork twice in the cup tie and missed his spot‑kick in the shoot‑out, yet he responded by providing two assists in the subsequent league demolition of Wolves. "He's been amazing.
Jarrod has been huge for us," Nuno remarked, highlighting the captain’s leadership and the trust his teammates place in him. "Jarrod doesn’t stop for one minute.
This is the main message that we want as a squad to see – no matter the situation, we keep giving it, we keep insisting, we keep believing. And Jarrod is the proof of that." Looking ahead, Bowen will captain a rejuvenated West Ham side at Selhurst Park for the Monday night encounter with Crystal Palace.
The team is prepared to confront the challenges that lie ahead and to capitalize on the opportunity they have carved out through collective effort. Nuno summed up the atmosphere by stating, "Every game is pressure, always pressure. It's increased due to the situation that we are in and we come to this decisive moment of the season, so we expect the best of our players, realising that everything is going to be decided now." The manager’s words underline the high stakes of the closing weeks of the Premier League campaign, where each point could be decisive in securing West Ham’s top‑flight future.