Ordinarily, I pay very little attention to pre-match press conferences. After all, football managers have become adept at saying plenty while revealing very little, and most appear media-trained to within an inch of their lives.
In many respects, West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo is no different. Although I am grateful he does not speak in the riddles that seemed to beset his predecessor, Graham Potter.
However, there was one moment that genuinely impressed me during his pre-match presser ahead of the Liverpool game.
It came when a journalist suggested that Nuno might have found the secret formula to beat Liverpool, reminding the Hammers boss of his record against the Reds when he was manager of Nottingham Forest.
The reporter asked: “You won there last season as a manager and also picked up a draw against Liverpool. Do you feel it’s a good match-up for you? Have you found the formula against them?”
Usually, that is the point where a manager would heap praise on the opposition and downplay his own achievements so as not to provide any unnecessary ammunition.
Espirito Santo refused to play possum in his press conference
A Subtle Shift in Tone
But on this occasion, Nuno’s answer carried more than just diplomacy — and dare I say it, a hint of confidence.
“We’ve had a good week — a really good week of work — and we’ve prepared well. We still have tomorrow to finalise everything before we travel and go into the game. New situations will happen, new moments will come.”
It would have been easy at that point to fall back on the usual clichés about what a great club and outstanding side Liverpool are.
Instead, there was an assuredness in the way he spoke — something I’m sure would have filtered through to the players.
It was not quite Churchillian, nor Braveheart-level stuff, but his team are in good form. And I do not blame him at all for allowing the suggestion to linger that perhaps he has the ingredients to outmanoeuvre Arne Slot.