‘Risy’ – West Ham make their worst start in 52 years

West Ham’s miserable Premier League campaign continued with defeat at Leeds on Friday, ensuring their worst start to a season in 52 years.

The result was the team’s third consecutive defeat under new coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who has not achieved a win since he replaced Graham Potter last September.

The Hammers, who sit 19th in the table, have only managed one win this season, ironically coming against Nottingham Forest, when Nuno was in charge at the City Ground.

The dismal return of just four points in total represents West Ham’s worst tally at this stage of a league season, with the club repeating that tally in the Second Division in the 1932-33 and 1973-74 seasons, when they finished last.

Having been appointed with the task of ensuring West Ham do not suffer relegation that would leave them out of the Premier League for the first time since 2011-12, Nuno, who picked up a point on his debut against Everton, is struggling to find answers.

The Portuguese said: “Unfortunately, there are many problems in our club. It is not our place to hide ourselves behind problems. Everyone must be alive, doing more and being in the right position.”

“We weren’t handling our defensive positions and I felt like we needed a striker to keep the ball, so maybe that wasn’t my best.

“This type of error is unacceptable in the Premier League.”

Nuno, who is also the first West Ham manager to fail to win any of his first four Premier League matches since Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018, added: “There is quality there, there is time, but nothing will happen if we don’t change.

“We must change our attitude, we must change the way we approach things, we must commit better, prepare better, work harder.

“All things – that’s the reality. We don’t expect things to change on their own. Realizing that we have time can be a mistake if we don’t change things quickly.”