By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Considering Nuno Espírito Santo’s West Ham side don’t look remotely ready for tomorrow’s Carabao Cup opener against Portsmouth, I remain remarkably optimistic about the campaign ahead.
Granted, that probably has more to do with blind optimism than any real evidence, but after last season’s Premier League relegation, it’s good to have football back again, even if it is only the first round of the Carabao Cup.
The team looks far from ready. It’s unbalanced, lacking in pace and I don’t believe the midfield we’ll see start tomorrow will be the one our promotion campaign is ultimately built around.
Quality should tell
That said, Taty Castellanos, Jarrod Bowen, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Mads Hermansen and El Hadji Malick Diouf, if selected, are all players who should be operating comfortably above Championship level.
Fair play to the West Ham ownership for keeping hold of such important and highly paid footballers, who I’m sure are not overly enamoured with spending a season in the second tier of English football.
As the club continue their search for attacking reinforcements, keeping hold of the core of the squad could prove just as important as any new signing.
It’s now down to those players, and to Nuno Espírito Santo, to find the motivation needed for what is going to be a hugely important campaign for the club.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen will be crucial if Nuno wants to start quickly
Nuno’s biggest challenge
As for Nuno himself, he really can’t afford to make a poor start.
I always felt relegation from the Premier League wouldn’t do too much damage to his reputation given the state of the football club he inherited.
However, I suspect he’ll be viewed very differently if he can’t get a tune out of the likes of Jarrod Bowen in the Championship.
I still think we’re massively short on pace and, at present, that could prove to be our Achilles heel.
But if West Ham can start on the front foot in front of what should be a packed London Stadium, with the club expected to break the attendance record for a Carabao Cup first-round tie, hopefully it can become the springboard for a season we can all enjoy.
That, in itself, would be a novelty.
Turning up to a football match genuinely expecting West Ham to win has been a long time coming, and it’s something Hammers fans thoroughly deserve.