Nuno Espirito Santo replaced Graham Potter on Saturday to become the new West Ham head coach, with the 51-year-old expected to be in the dugout for the Hammers’ first visit to The Hill Dickinson Stadium against Everton on Monday night.
The Portuguese manager has a wealth of experience in the Premier League, managing 184 games in the top-flight with Wolves, Spurs and Nottingham Forest, winning 72, drawing 45 and losing 67.
Nuno had extremely successful spells at Wolves and Forest, guiding Wolves back into the Premier League in 2018, before spearheading them to a Europa League quarter-final in 2019/20.
The manager also gave Forest their first taste of European football since 1995 this year following an excellent campaign which saw them finish seventh in the league last season.
Sky Sports reported that West Ham actively looked for a replacement for Potter following the 3-0 home defeat to spurs on September 13, and it is believed Nuno was the club’s number one target.
Nuno’s playing style
West Ham fans will be desperate for results to pick up sooner rather than later, with the club losing five of their first six games this season, whilst having the worst defensive record in the league conceding 13 goals.
Following David Moyes’ sacking, it felt there was an expectation around the club to recruit a manager who has a more possession-based attacking style of football, but with Julen Lopetegui and Potter both failing to deliver results despite being more attacking-minded than Moyes, perhaps a manager who is more defensively wary could be the best way forward for the club, and Nuno might just tick that box.
Nottingham Forest averaged 41% possession under Nuno last season, making it the third lowest in the league, but it was a counter-attacking style that clearly worked form in what was an incredible season for the club.
Across his 184 Premier League games, Nuno’s sides have conceded 242 goals, which is an average of 1.3 a game, whilst Potter has averaged almost three goals conceded in his five league games this season.
Nuno was renowned for having a successful five-at-the-back formation at Wolves, however succeeded also with the four defenders at Forest, and with West Ham having struggled with the five-at-the-back under Potter this season, it would come as no surprise if the manager decides to go with a back four against Everton.
Ultimately, the defence needs to be improved immediately, and appointing a manager who had the fifth best defensive record in the league last season feels like a sensible move for West Ham.
