There were empty seats before West Ham took on Brentford in their London derby. And plenty during the game. And even more so as the game drew to a close.
The fans who were left booed their team off after a truly miserable 2-0 defeat that could easily have been 5-0.
These are toxic times at London Stadium, with some fans staying away in a protest against the running of the club.
New Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo – yet to win after three games – admits the players have to work hard to get the fans back onside.
There was no sugar-coating this performance by the head coach with his after-match verdict.
“Not good enough. Poor,” said the Portuguese, who was managing his first West Ham home game since replacing Graham Potter, after two away trips.
“Fairly Brentford won the game, they were the better team.
“I think we are all concerned. You can see our own fans are concerned. Concern becomes anxiety, becomes silence. That anxiety passes to the players. We have a problem.
“It’s understandable. It’s up to us to change. The fans need to see something that pleases them and they can support us and give us energy.
“I understand it, I understand it totally, and I respect it. It’s up to us, it’s up to us to change it. We are the people who have to pull the fans back together.”
West Ham remain 19th, with just four points from their opening eight games. They are in action in the next Premier League game too, visiting Leeds on Friday.
Nuno told BBC Sport: “It’s a challenge for all of us. It’s up to us to change the momentum and bring our fans back to support us. In four days’ time we need a big improvement.”
West Ham’s “main priority” is bringing the club’s fans and players closer together, says new manager Nuno Espirito Santo but he knows there is “a lot of work” to do.
After recent protests, chants of “sack the board” could be heard during Monday’s 1-1 draw at Everton, Nuno’s first game in charge of the Hammers after replacing Graham Potter.
But, after Jarrod Bowen’s second-half equaliser had earned them a spirited point, the former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest boss took his players over to the travelling supporters at the end of the match in a show of unity and togetherness.
“What I think is important is to appreciate what our fans did traveling to Liverpool on a Monday night and giving the support they’ve given,” he said. “It’s our main priority to come closer to our fans.
“We have to deliver so they can appreciate the work of the boys. Moving forward it’s important.”
After beginning his tenure with a point on the road, Nuno said his players will “embrace the challenge”.
“I think the team competed well,” the Portuguese manager said. “It’s a tough, tough place to come, a very good team.
“Overall it was a good game, intense, both teams had chances. The message for us [to the players] is how we can compete now.”
Nuno said he has avoided making too many changes to West Ham’s tactics and is instead focusing on making incremental improvements.
“Simple, don’t change too many things,” he responded when asked about his approach. “When you arrive at a club it’s about slowly progressing and trying to find the right options and solutions. Now it’s how we can improve them.”
West Ham have appointed former Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach after sacking Graham Potter.
Nuno, 51, has signed a three-year contract with the Hammers and will take charge of his first match on Monday away at Everton in the Premier League.
Potter was dismissed on Saturday morning after only eight months in charge, with the club 19th in the table.
Nuno joins West Ham after being sacked on 9 September by Forest, who he guided to seventh in the Premier League last season – their highest finish since 1994-95.
“I am very pleased to be here and very proud to be representing West Ham United,” he said.
“My objective is to work hard to get the very best from the team and ensure that we are as competitive as we possibly can be. The work has already started and I am looking forward to the challenge that is ahead.”
Nuno joins West Ham shortly after a 21-month stint at the City Ground, where he was sacked only three games into this season.
He took his first training session in east London on Saturday afternoon before the club’s match at Everton on Monday.
West Ham said Nuno will be assisted in the interim by academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, with a further announcement on his coaching and backroom staff to be made in due course.
The Hammers took only three points from their opening five league games this season under Potter.
After dismissing the 50-year-old, West Ham said they believed “a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible”.
They added: “Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025-26 season have not matched expectations.”
In a statement via the League Managers Association, Potter said: “I am incredibly disappointed to be leaving West Ham, particularly without being able to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of our journey in east London.
“I do, however, fully acknowledge that the results have just not been good enough up to now.”
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Palace was West Ham’s fifth in six league and cup games this season.
Potter replaced Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked in January after six months in charge, with the Hammers 14th in the table.
“It’s a proud day to be head coach of this amazing club – big tradition, big history, big expectations, big challenge,” Potter said when he was appointed on 9 January.
But the former Chelsea and Brighton boss found wins difficult to come by.
West Ham, who sold Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham for £55m in July, spent £126m on eight new arrivals in the summer, including the £38m purchase of Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes from Southampton in August.
But losses to Sunderland, Chelsea, Tottenham and Palace have left the club in the bottom three. They also went out of the Carabao Cup in the second round with a 3-2 defeat by fellow strugglers Wolves.
That led to West Ham issuing a statement acknowledging “results and performances on the pitch over the past two seasons have not met the standards we set for ourselves”.
Disgruntled fans staged a demonstration against the club’s board before the Palace match, and the owners have reacted by dismissing Potter.
Poor results on the pitch led to Potter becoming a viral trend on social media, with people using AI technology to swap his face on to other celebrities, including Barbie, US President Donald Trump and the Chuckle Brothers.
Speaking on Friday, Potter said he had not been taking it too seriously.
“It made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot so you have to accept what comes with it [the job],” he said.
“At times [that is] ridicule but that is just the environment we are in and it is what it is.”
West Ham may move for Nuno Espirito Santo if they sack Graham Potter, Arsenal among sides interested in Luiz Gustavo Benedetti and Manchester United show interest in Elliot Anderson
West Ham are considering a move for Nuno Espirito Santo should they sack manager Graham Potter. (Alan Nixon), external
Manchester United are interested in Nottingham Forest’s £70m-rated midfielder Elliot Anderson, but the England international, 22, is happy at the City Ground and has no plans to leave. (Football Insider), external
Chelsea had a £70m bid for Juventus striker Kenan Yildiz rejected over the summer, with the Italian side hoping to tie the 20-year-old Turkey international down to a long-term contract. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
Crystal Palace may consider offers in the region of £60m for Adam Wharton in January, with Liverpool keen on the 21-year-old England midfielder. (Teamtalk), external
ManchesterUnited will rival ManchesterCity in the race to sign InterMilan’s 29-year-old Netherlands full-back Denzel Dumfries. (Football Insider), external
Real Madrid are monitoring the progress of Leicester’s 16-year-old England Under-19 winger Jeremy Monga. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
ARSENAL welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates for Saturday’s early kick-off.
The Tricky Trees have appointed Ange Postecoglou to replace Nuno Espirito Santo after the Portuguese gaffer was brutally sacked at the start of the week.
The former Tottenham manager will be looking to get off to a winning start away at his side’s former archrivals.
Arsenal are hoping to get back to winning ways after they suffered their first defeat of the season to Liverpool before the international break.
Spurs lost 22 of their 38 league matches last season, accumulating only 38 points as they finished 17th – their worst finish in the Premier League.
They conceded 65 goals, with only Wolves and the relegated trio of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton shipping more.
But Postecoglou led the club to a first major trophy in 17 years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final.
The victory secured Champions League football, but it was not enough to keep Postecoglou in a job and he was sacked by the club 16 days later.
Spurs, who appointed Thomas Frank as his successor, said Postecoglou would be remembered for delivering “one of the club’s greatest moments” in becoming only the third manager to win them a European trophy.
Tottenham finished fifth in his first season in charge before he kept his promise to provide silverware in his second year.
Postecoglou was initially praised for the attacking style he implemented, but he was forced to defend himself from criticism for sticking to his principles and had to contend with a catalogue of injuries to key players.
Internal tensions at the club were believed to centre around disagreements over their transfer business.
Previously, Nuno had criticised the club’s activity in the summer transfer window, saying they had wasted a good chance.
Edu was appointed as Forest’s global head of football earlier in the summer and has taken firm control over the club’s recruitment operation.
“I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis. This season it is not so well,” Nuno said.
“Our relationship has changed and we are not as close. Everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality.”
In total, Forest have made 13 signings for about £196m based on reported initial fees.
As for the outgoings, Anthony Elanga, Danilo and Wayne Hennessey were all among the players whose Forest careers ended this window.
In May last season, Marinakis appeared to confront Nuno on the pitch following a 2-2 draw against Leicester at the City Ground.
Forest later said the incident was because of the owner’s frustration that striker Taiwo Awoniyi had continued to play following an 88th-minute injury, which subsequently required what was described as “urgent” surgery.
The club said there was “no confrontation” and it was “fake news” to suggest otherwise.
However, those missed points against an already-relegated side were part of a run that saw Forest – who had been in contention for Champions League qualification – only pick up eight points from their last eight matches of the 2024-25 campaign.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST boss Nuno Espirito Santo and West Ham’s Graham Potter are joint-favourites to be the first Premier League managerial casualties of the 2025/26 season.
That’s according to bookmaker talkSPORT BET, who’ve updated their betting markets after more twists and turns in the Premier League sack race.
Here, SunSport takes a closer look at the leading contenders – and who’s most likely to get the boot first.
Nuno Espirito Santo – 11/8
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo remains firmly in the frame to be the first Premier League manager axed this season, amid ongoing uncertainty at the City Ground.
The 51-year-old lit the fuse last week by admitting his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis has “changed” – and that they’re “not as close” as they once were.
Tensions are understood to stem from the club’s summer transfer dealings, now overseen by Edu, with Nuno reportedly frustrated at being sidelined from key recruitment decisions.
Forest have splashed more than £150million on seven new signings – including Omari Hutchinson, Dan Ndoye, Arnaud Kalimuendo and James McAtee – but Nuno still wants more, including a new goalkeeper and two full-backs.
Despite the growing pressure, Nuno has insisted he won’t walk away – but notably refused to guarantee he’ll still be in charge by the end of the transfer window on September 1.
He had been as short as 1/2 to be the first top-flight boss shown the door, but has drifted to 11/8 following a crisis emerging at West Ham.
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Owner Evangelos Marinakis confronting Nuno Espirito Santo on the pitch back in MayCredit: GETTY
Graham Potter – 11/8
West Ham’s Graham Potter is now level with Nuno at 11/8, having shortened from 3/1 earlier in the week after a horror run of results.
His miserable week hit a new low on Tuesday when the Hammers were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Wolves, conceding twice in the final eight minutes in a 3-2 defeat – with Jorgen Strand Larsen bagging a brace.
The full-time whistle saw tempers boil over, with captain Jarrod Bowen confronting a furious supporter during heated post-match scenes.
That came on the back of a 5-1 thrashing by Chelsea at the London Stadium and an opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Sunderland.
Potter’s numbers make grim reading – just five wins in 22 matches since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January, with 12 defeats and a return of 0.95 points per game – the worst record of any manager in West Ham’s history.
The Hammers must now pick themselves up ahead of a weekend trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, before clashes against Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal.
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Jarrod Bowen is pulled away after clashing with West Ham supportersCredit: GETTY
What happened last season?
A total of eight Premier League managers were shown the door last season, with Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag the first to go in October.
Steve Cooper’s short-lived stint at Leicester came to a sudden end in November, before Wolves and Southampton parted ways with Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin on the same December afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui and Sean Dyche followed in January, their departures announced less than 24 hours apart. In April, Ivan Juric became the second Southampton manager to be sacked during the 2024–25 campaign.
Despite ending Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought, Ange Postecoglou was the final manager to leave his post, dismissed in June after overseeing the club’s worst-ever Premier League finish – 17th.
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About the author
James Anderson
James Anderson is a Betting & Gaming Writer at The Sun. He is an expert in sports betting and online casinos, and joined the company in November 2020 to work closely with leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to curate content in all areas of sports betting. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter and Head of Live Blogs/Events at the Daily Express and Daily Star, covering football, cricket, snooker, F1 and horse racing.
Despite Nuno’s latest comments, it seems clear there is considerable friction behind the scenes at the City Ground.
If Forest continue to win games, then sacking him becomes that much tougher.
But can Nuno really expect to come out on top in a dispute with the owner and head of football?
“This is a battle that Nuno will lose,” European football expert Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We all know that once you start questioning your owner, it’s done. For him to come out with this unprompted, he offered it to the whole world, he knows that it is coming and that he can’t win this battle.
“We also know that him and Edu don’t get on. He was already there when Edu arrived at the club, and we all know when a new sporting director arrives, they like to come with their own people.”
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said Nuno may consider resigning now that the relationship was “broken”.
“Nuno’s stock is so high with the fanbase, they will want to fully believe in him,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But it is also so awkward for them because they will be grateful for what the owner has done for the club in the last few years.
“With Edu coming into the club in such an important position, he will want his own people in play, because they will never really fully trust the person that is already in play? If he could pick a manager now, would he pick Nuno? No.
“That will be nagging for as long as possible, but Marinakis and Edu won’t be rooting for him to fail so they can make the change.
“But the relationship is broken and I would not be surprised if Nuno walks before he is sacked.”
Eddie Howe explains why Newcastle are in a lose-lose situation with Isak
EDDIE HOWE says Newcastle are in a lose-lose situation regarding Alexander Isak – but admitted there’s “two sides to every story” amid the star’s ongoing strike.
The wantaway Swede, 25, finally went public on his desire to leave this week with his bombshell “broken promises” statement.
Newcastle hit back at the those claims from the striker, who still refuses to play as he tries to force a move to Liverpool, and denied any promises had been made that he could go.
Liverpool, who head to St. James’ Park on Monday, are preparing a new £130m British record bid that Toon insist will be turned down.
And Howe faces the prospect of eventually losing a world-class star or keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there.
He said: “The club has to act in the best interests of Newcastle and we will do that in every situation.
“It is a lose-lose situation to a degree for us because I don’t think we can come out of this winning in any situation. That is why I have said all summer it is a difficult situation for the club to manage.
“We love Alex in the sense in what has done for this football club since he has been here, what he has contributed, what he has given, how professional he’s been and this has just been an unfortunate few months that looks like it is coming to an end. And it will come to an end pretty quickly and then we can focus on the football again.”
Howe says Isak’s relationship with the Toon Army can still be repaired as he refused to stick the boot into the forward – who has become public enemy No1 with fans.
He said: “I believe it can. I believe the supporters will always react off how a player plays and gives the team.
“This has been an unfortunate situation but there are always two sides to every story.
“There’s always more than even I will know, because there are conversations and things that have taken place far away from me and my knowledge of it.
“I’ve been focusing on the team and pre-season, so I’ve become totally detached from the situation to a degree so I think my job now is to support Alex, care for him at this moment in time and see where we are in a week’s time.”
Howe, who hopes to bolster his forward line by bringing in Yoane Wissa, revealed he hasn’t spoken to the £150m-rated hotshot this week.
He claims the whole fall-out is nothing personal and continued to stress how much he wants Isak to return and fire the club to more glory after last season’s Carabao Cup success.
He said: “When I see him we speak as normal. There are no issues between us.
“It’s difficult on both sides. It’s far from ideal for both parties, that’s Alex and us. But when we see each other we’re fine.
“He’s training later on detached from the group. We will, I’m sure, catch up at some stage and hopefully speak soon.
“He’s contracted to us. He’s our player. My wish is he would be playing on Monday night but he won’t be, which is regrettable. But 100 per cent I want to see him back in a Newcastle shirt.
“There’s no doubt how the players will feel. They will feel the same way I do.
“Alex is an outstanding player and a very, very good person, a good character, a good lad. He wants to succeed in his career.
“This has been a really difficult situation for him and for the players to see us without him.
“The players have handled it really well. If Alex decided to come back and play for us the players would welcome him back.”
Howe, who claimed he “didn’t know” if Isak had been fined for refusing to face Aston Villa, also says he has no idea if the situation can be resolved before the September 1 transfer deadline.
But he says the club are still determined to keep the rebel but warned Isak would only pull on a Black and White shirt again if he was “totally committed”.
Howe added: “I’m not a fortune-teller, unfortunately. I’d love to be, but I’ve got no way of knowing what will happen in the next few days in terms of trying to get some finality on the situation, so I’m in the same boat as everybody else, really.
“The club has had a very strong stance regarding Alex’s situation all summer. Obviously there has been a lot of conversations between the club and his representatives that I’ve not been a part of, but for me, nothing has changed throughout the summer.
“If Alex is to play for Newcastle again, he has to be totally committed. I don’t think it works any other way. But that question is for another day. When any player puts on the shirt and steps onto the pitch, he has to give his all for the team.”
Nuno Espirito Santo’s future as Nottingham Forest manager is uncertain after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Nuno’s position is not completely safe despite last season’s achievement of qualifying for Europe and the opening-day win over Brentford on Sunday.
The uncertainty, according to sources, has now stretched to the playing squad who are said to be aware of the situation.
In a news conference on Friday, the 51-year-old said his relationship with Marinakis “has changed” and they are “not as close”.
“I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis,” Nuno said.
“This season it is not so well [between us] but I always believe that dialogue is important because my concern is the squad and the season we have ahead of us. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close.”
When asked if it was good his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis had changed, Nuno said: “No, it is not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but this not the reality.”
Forest have been active in the transfer market this summer, signing seven players – though they did sell winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m.
But before last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Nuno outlined his transfer concerns.
“We have doubts, who is going to be [here], when are they [new signings] going to come? All these things create doubts,” he said.
“Not only me but in the club. What we want is game-by-game to have as many options as possible. Europe will come after, and for sure it will be better, but for now until that happens it is a major concern.
“The owner is aware, the club is aware, everyone is aware. Everybody knows the reality. This is a lost chance that we had as a group to do it.”
There have been suggestions that Nuno has not been fully involved in the club’s recruitment this summer, which could be a factor in the deterioration of his relationship with Marinakis.
