West Ham need to improve everything to win back disgruntled fans

West Ham must improve everything and reconnect with the fans, manager Nuno said amid significant supporter discontent at their dreadful start to the Premier League season.

The Hammers were abject in a 2-0 home loss to Brentford on Monday, a defeat that saw them booed off by the London Stadium crowd. Many home fans stayed away from the game as part of a protest organised by supporters group ‘Hammers United’.

Nuno, who replaced Graham Potter late last month, has yet to taste victory as West Ham boss, taking one point from three Premier League games, the lack of improvement in fortunes under his management leaving the East London club second bottom with four points from eight games.

The Portuguese will attempt to claim his first win on Friday when West Ham visit Leeds United, with Nuno well aware of what it will take to change the mood among the supporters.

Nuno: It’s up to us

“It’s up to us to connect the fans again,” Nuno told a pre-match press conference. “It’s up to us that the fans go to the stadium and they enjoy and that they are on our side.

“We are not getting enough points – that’s the main issue. To do that, we must improve our game. We must play better – home and away and in training sessions. No matter where.

“When the game against Brentford finished, we need to take the frustration, commitment and motivation so that we can play better. This is the step we need to take. 

“Individually we have to improve our players. We need to improve their fitness, tactical awareness – everything. Then, we concede a lot of set-pieces – too much – but we defend them pretty well. We are improving on that but we need to improve on not conceding. 

“Some of them are easy situations we can solve. So we are working on that. It’s not only set-pieces or being compact. It’s about improving overall. 

“We didn’t do enough offensively against Brentford. We need to have the freedom to attack. But it’s difficult to find that balance.”