If West Ham Cannot Sack Nuno – Then He Must Make These Immediate Changes

Calls for West Ham United manager Nuno Espírito Santo to be sacked are growing louder following consecutive home defeats against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers have dropped to eighth in the Championship, and supporters are understandably questioning whether the Portuguese coach is capable of leading the club back to the Premier League.

I certainly fall squarely into the camp of people who don’t believe Nuno can either motivate his players or outsmart many of his rival Championship managers. The football has become stale, the team looks disjointed and there is precious little evidence of a manager getting the best out of what should be a very competitive squad.

But if we’re absolutely honest with ourselves, I suspect most West Ham supporters would acknowledge that Nuno is nowhere near being sacked. So rather than simply demanding his removal, perhaps the more useful question is what he can actually change to get this team playing better.

Why Nuno Looks Secure At West Ham

There are several reasons why I suspect Espírito Santo will remain in charge for the foreseeable future.

Firstly, West Ham are still in a state of flux regarding the club’s ownership structure. Until the proposed changes involving Vanessa Gold’s shareholding are completed and the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, there remains uncertainty about precisely who will be making the biggest decisions.

Secondly, despite bringing in the best part of £200million through summer player sales, there are questions about how much money the club actually has available. Whether West Ham would be willing or able to fund another managerial dismissal and appointment is unclear.

And thirdly, if Daniel Křetínský is indeed calling the shots, Nuno is very much the manager he backed to lead the club through this Championship campaign.

I suspect Kretinsky will stick with his man for now –  but more on this tomorrow.

Which leaves us with a rather uncomfortable situation. A manager whose football is becoming increasingly difficult to defend, but who may nevertheless be extremely secure in his job.

So what can Nuno actually do?

West Ham Must Stop Playing A Centre-Back At Left-Back

The first thing I’d change is the defence.

Nuno needs to abandon the experiment of playing Morato at left-back and select a proper full-back in that position.

I appreciate that Morato has performed reasonably well at times, and his versatility has been useful. But ultimately he’s a central defender, and I don’t believe the arrangement is helping West Ham develop a balanced team.

Whether Nuno selects Adama Boiro or Ollie Scarles doesn’t particularly matter to me at this stage.

Something needs to change.

We need better balance, more natural movement down the left and defenders playing in positions they understand.

Nuno Must Completely Rethink His Midfield

The midfield simply isn’t functioning.

As I’ve said previously, Arne Engels appears to be guaranteed a game irrespective of how he performs. Meanwhile, Nuno seems to believe he can win the Championship without consistently selecting a recognised defensive midfielder.

I don’t understand either decision.

West Ham have a wealth of options in central midfield, yet we repeatedly find ourselves overrun, unable to retain possession and exposed whenever opponents break forward.

For that reason, I think it’s probably time to change the midfield completely.

I’d be tempted to give Lewis Orford another opportunity alongside either Edson Álvarez or Soungoutou Magassa.

Both Álvarez and Magassa offer the possibility of greater defensive protection, something West Ham have been desperately lacking.

And with a more secure base behind him, Divine Mukasa could finally be deployed in his best position as a number ten.

He’s a wonderfully gifted young footballer, but we’re wasting too much of his ability by asking him to drop deep and collect possession from the centre-backs.

Get him further up the pitch, give him some protection behind him and let him start opening up opposition defences.

Surely that’s worth trying?

Even The Goalkeeper Shouldn’t Be Untouchable

Between the sticks, Mads Hermansen hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory.

I’m not suggesting every goal West Ham concede is his fault, because the defending in front of him has frequently been dreadful.

But when a team is struggling this badly, nobody should be guaranteed their place simply because they’ve been selected regularly.

Nuno has an ex PCG goalkeeper in Alphonse Areola at his disposal… surely it’s worth a try?

It’s Time To Give Joël Piroe A Proper Chance

Which brings us to the striking department.

Leading up to the Southampton game, plenty of people were keen to repeat the fallacy that West Ham couldn’t win football matches without Pablo.

It was nonsense anyway.

It’s worth remembering that Pablo didn’t start the Hammers’ 6-0 victory against Wrexham, which I consider our most convincing performance of the season.

And following back-to-back defeats in which the £23million striker started both matches, I suspect that particular myth has been exposed to all but his most vociferous supporters.

I don’t question Pablo’s effort. He works hard, puts himself about and certainly isn’t afraid of making a tackle.

Unfortunately, those qualities alone don’t make somebody an effective Championship striker.

West Ham need goals.

For that reason, I’d be inclined to give Joël Piroe, our only proven Championship goalscorer among the recognised centre-forwards, a proper opportunity to establish himself.

He hasn’t been given anything resembling a consistent run in the side, and I struggle to understand how Nuno can properly assess his options without giving him one.

I’m not suggesting Piroe is guaranteed to solve our problems.

But surely it’s worth finding out.

West Ham Cannot Keep Repeating The Same Mistakes

Of course, all these changes will count for very little unless Nuno can find a way to motivate his players.

I have little doubt that West Ham possess a number of talented footballers, many of whom I suspect would look considerably better under different coaches.

But motivation is only half the job.

Once the players cross that white line, tactics, organisation and selection become equally important.

And that is where Nuno continues to let himself down.

Whether any of my suggestions would make a significant difference, I genuinely don’t know.

But I do know that repeating the same errors time and again isn’t going to get West Ham back into contention for automatic promotion.

The players who have consistently underperformed need to be dropped, and those who haven’t had much of an opportunity deserve a chance.

We have enough players in this squad to try something different.

And frankly, that’s probably the best we can hope for at the moment.

Because as much as some West Ham supporters might wish for Nuno Espírito Santo’s removal, I suspect he’s currently extremely secure in his job.

Which means if West Ham are going to improve, the manager who created many of these problems is probably going to have to be the one who solves them.