Nuno Espírito Santo can’t wait to get lead his West Ham United side at home for the first time when Brentford make the short trip across the capital on Monday night.
Following a 1-1 draw away at Everton and a hard-fought 2-0 defeat on the road against Arsenal last time out, the Portuguese is set to be greeted by around 60,000 members of the Claret and Blue Army for his third match in charge, which he hopes will deliver a first three-point haul.
Having previously overseen five matches at London Stadium, during his spells as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest Head Coach, he is looking to help ignite a thumping atmosphere under the lights when he gets his first taste of the Hammers dugout, alongside his recently-appointed coaching team.
While he acknowledged the valuable contributions of first-team coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville, and goalkeeping coach Billy Lepine, since his arrival in late September, Nuno also discussed how impressed he’s been by the work of his players during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Among the other topics raised by members of the media were his options in attack for the visit of the Bees, and what he is expecting from Keith Andrews’ side, who currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, after two wins, four defeats and a draw from their opening seven games of 2025/26.
Scroll down for the main talking points...
Settling in
It’s not been easy for me to find accommodation in London! We’re working on that, but my priority is here, where I spend 80 per cent of my day. When you move, the most important thing is adapting to your new Club.
I don’t think we’ve changed anything specific since I’ve been here, we’ve just been trying to adapt routines.
It’s been the international break, when it is always hard to work because many players go away with their countries. But those who stayed worked very hard and well, which has pleased us and given us comfort and confidence moving forward.
We’re not looking too far ahead. What is important is tomorrow, and for us that is Brentford on Monday night.
Options in attack
I think he (Crysencio Summerville) has a lot of talent. One of his key characteristics is speed, and he is very aggressive in one-on-one situations.
As a team we have to give him the chance to do his actions with space and time. It’s up to us to try and get the ball to our front players in the right positions, in the right moments, so they can deliver.
We have a healthy fight for a position (up front between Callum Marshall and Callum Wilson). They’re two different players, at different stages of their careers, but we are counting on both of them to try and solve our problems in attack.
Importance of the whole squad
We were really proud to have had so many players called up for international duty, and while some of them were happier than others, because of the results, for us we were pleased they came back healthy.
Every player in the squad is going to be important for us during the season. Everyone is working, and then for each game we will make what we think is the right decision.
Learning from his backroom team
They’ve helped me with a lot of things. They’ve given me a lot of support, during the training sessions and in terms of learning about the Club, but also about the players.
They’ve been in contact with the players before, and they know them better. So, my approach is made easier by having people around who really know them, as players and also as people.
All the coaches have been a fantastic help for me personally. I think we’re all getting closer as a group of people, including the players, and everyone is working really well.
Searching for home success
I’m looking forward to my first home game! For me, it’s very hard to analyse what’s happened before. It’s very hard and actually it’s not fair to do it.
What I’m doing is trying to improve, and realising that the home factor is really important. We want to change things, and help our home become a real fortress.
Like I’ve said before, I think it’s up to us to get closer to the fans, and give them a reason to support and help us. I hope that all our fans join us and help us against Brentford, because it’s going to be a tough game.
Battling Brentford
They’re a good team, and we saw in their previous game (when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 at home to Manchester City) that they compete very well. They have a lot of threats, they have good players, and they are a threat from set-pieces.
We’re expecting a tough match. I’ve faced them many times before, but it’s going to be a new game, so we expect different things to happen.
