West Ham’s unbeaten September run in the league has brought recognition today, ahead of the restart of hostilities with tomorrow’s London Derby signalling an end to the longest international break on record.
After a wobbly start in August, Wet Ham catapulted themselves from nineteenth in the league to – briefly – top spot before dropping back to second place behind Championship go-getters Swansea City. The Irons drew with Millwall after defeating Wrexham, Bolton Derby County and Wolves in a hugely successful second month.
So far so good: after a decent start, West Ham’s title credentials will be tested in the next tranche of games
Nuno has, for that performance, been nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award, according to the BBC’s article this morning:
“Lincoln City head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, Swansea’s Vitor Matos, Mark Robins of Stoke City and West Ham United boss Nuno Espirito Santo have been nominated for September’s Championship manager of the month award.”
Thirteen points is a pretty impressive return for West Ham’s boss who had found himself under pressure after a couple of draws and a loss to kick of life in the second tier.
Let us hope the international break doesn’t interrupt West Ham’s form and that the goals – and points – keep coming when the fixtures flow again through October.
Between tomorrow’s restart and another break for the Nations League arriving on November 9th, West Ham have a challenging run of games after QPR against Lincoln City, leaders Swansea City, Southampton, West Brom, Cardiff and Blackburn ahead.
With 21 points available, 15 plus would seem a good target to aim for in order to confirm West Ham’s automatic promotion credentials are genuine, and not just an early season flash in the pan.
All we can hope for is that Nuno selects a team that entertains us whilst attempting to win, rather than playing not to lose.
With the quantity and quality of player’s at his disposal, compared to other squads, Hammers should be set fair.
But then again …..it’s NES! 🙄