Nuno Espírito Santo is confident his West Ham United side have learnt plenty of lessons from his three matches in charge so far, as we gear up for a Friday night clash away at Leeds United.
It’s a short turnaround for the Hammers after Monday evening’s home defeat by Brentford, and we will be fully focused on bouncing back with what would be a second win of 2025/26, and a first under the tutelage of our Portuguese Head Coach since his late-September appointment, under the Elland Road lights.
A run of four wins in the last six league meetings with Leeds offers the Irons signs of encouragement ahead of the trip up to West Yorkshire, while Friday’s hosts are indeed winless in their last four such home games, having delivered two draws and two losses.
As it stands, Daniel Farke’s newly-promoted side sit 16th in the Premier League table after eight games, three places and four points ahead of West Ham, though they last tasted victory away at bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20 September and will be similarly itching for three points.
While he was quizzed about stopping the Whites during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Nuno also dissected aspects of the Brentford match and commented on ongoing work at Rush Green behind the scenes.
Here are all the main talking points…
Brentford reflections
We have problems that we’re trying to solve. It wasn’t good enough on Monday, and we know that we have to improve.
The improvement must first come from the players. They have to take responsibility to win their own game and their own duels, and then for sure as a team we’re going to improve.
I think we started well on Monday, and during the first 20 minutes or so we had a good game. But then we were not able to sustain it, which was the main disappointment. I think that was down to many factors - Brentford adjusted well and started taking the game to us, and then we were imprecise, we rushed things and showed anxiety, all of which affected our game.
We can’t hide from what has happened, and it’s up to us to connect with the fans again. It’s up to us to make sure the fans go to the stadium and see something that they enjoy.
I am working with the players every day, and I see that we have quality and talent that we’re not showing in the matches. It’s a problem that we must solve, and we’ll look to be better against Leeds on Friday night.
Taking positive steps
First, you have to detect the problems you have, then address them and improve on them. But more than anything, you have to be together, and create a bond. You have to be able to be strong enough as individuals, and then transform that.
That starts for us now on Friday. We must transform the frustration from Monday night into commitment and motivation, so we can play better against Leeds. That is a step we have to make.
Healthy competition across the pitch
All the players are working well, and it’s up to us to make the decisions for the team in the right moment.
All of the players, as long as they’re healthy, are options for us, and we need them. It’s us as a collective who are going to solve our problems - us who are in the building. We must solve our own problems.
As I said before, we have to improve the players as individuals - their levels of fitness, technically, tactically, their awareness - everything. Then, we have to improve things as a team. For example, looking at some of the situations we can solve, such as the way we are conceding goals.
We are working here in training, and we have to repeat, repeat, repeat, and then try to put that into work in the games. We have to cover all aspects, and finding a balance is hard, but I’m positive that we can achieve it.
Individuals working to deliver for the team
We as a team have to improve Lucas [Paquetá], to get the best out of him. I think we have the pieces - we have speed up front, for example - so let’s try to find solutions within the team so that Lucas can deliver all the good things that he is capable of.
I think Jarrod [Bowen] is someone who can deliver, but we’re not expecting only Jarrod to score goals. I think we have goals from across the team that can win matches, including from our centre-halves, for example if we improve our offensive set-pieces. It’s up to all of us, as a team.
With our centre-halves, I think that complicity is really important, regardless of who is playing there. We have to have good communication there, because it’s about how they operate together.
In terms of conceding goals, it’s not down to who the goalkeeper is, because we as a team conceded those goals. It’s up to us to decide what is best for the team. In all the positions across the team, all the places are open for competition.
Tough Leeds test
We are clearly aware that it’s going to be a very tough game. Leeds are a very good team, and it’s going to be a tough environment. But we’ll be ready, and we’re looking forward to it.
