Nuno Under Pressure: How Bad Is the West Ham Crisis After Watford Draw?
West Ham are still waiting for their first win of the season, and Nuno Espirito Santo's start to life in the Championship is already looking increasingly shaky.
A 1-1 draw away to Watford on Saturday leaves the Hammers with just two points from their opening three league games, with Matthew Pollock's 27th-minute own goal the only reason West Ham avoided defeat.
That followed a home loss to Charlton Athletic in front of a record Championship crowd and an opening-day draw at Burnley, where West Ham surrendered a 2-0 lead.
West Ham now sit 19th, level on points with the bottom three.
Nuno has already acknowledged the pressure surrounding his position, telling reporters after the Charlton defeat that "it's West Ham, the pressure is every day". With three games gone and the Hammers still searching for their first Championship win in more than a decade, that pressure is only going to intensify.
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How West Ham Let Watford Off the Hook
Amin Nabizada put Watford ahead after 19 minutes at Vicarage Road, continuing an unbeaten start to the season for the home side.
West Ham levelled just eight minutes later in fortunate circumstances, Watford defender Kevin Keben dawdling on his own byline before Castellanos squared the ball across goal for Pollock to turn it into his own net.
Neither side could find a winner after that, and a point at Vicarage Road leaves West Ham with two draws and a defeat from their first three matches, having failed to score more than one goal in any of them.
A Difficult Rebuild Compounds the Pressure
West Ham's squad has changed significantly since relegation, with Mateus Fernandes (£85m to Tottenham) and Crysencio Summerville (£55m to Al-Hilal) both sold during the summer, while club-record signing Arne Engels arrived from Celtic for £22m.
Such a major rebuild was always going to take time to settle.
However, a missed stoppage-time penalty against Charlton — in front of West Ham's biggest home crowd since relegation was confirmed — has intensified scrutiny of Nuno and raised questions about whether he is the right man to lead the Hammers straight back to the Premier League.
Nuno was asked directly if the pressure had become personal after the Charlton defeat and made no attempt to dodge the issue, admitting: "It's West Ham, the pressure is every day."
He also apologised to supporters for the way his side had surrendered the game.
What's Next for Nuno
There's no time to dwell on Watford.
West Ham face back-to-back home league games this week, hosting Wolves on Tuesday before Derby County visit on Saturday.
The two fixtures give Nuno a valuable opportunity to steady the ship and ease the growing pressure, but further poor results could see West Ham head into the international break with serious questions being asked.
