Nuno Espirito Santo answered the West Ham fans’ boos as he watched his side slump to yet another defeat with a 2-1 loss at home to Nottingham Forest.
The Hammers were beaten late on at the London Stadium by Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty after a Murillo own goal had been cancelled out by Nicolas Dominguez’s flicked header.
The result leaves the Irons seven points adrift of safety - 18th in the Premier League table - and Nuno’s position as head coach looks precarious.
The Portuguese cut a deflated figure on the touchline as he stared in disbelief at the late penalty, which was awarded by VAR after Alphonse Areola had cleaned out Gibbs-White when coming to punch clear a Forest free kick.
Jeers echoed around the emptying London Stadium at the full-time whistle, and a dejected Nuno attempted to issue one final rallying cry to the irate supporters.
“We keep believing and sticking together,” the former Forest and Wolves boss told Sky Sports.
“It's not over yet. We keep on going.”
Asked for his response to the fans’ boos, Nuno admitted that it was “hard to explain”.
"It's hard to ask them anything,” he continued.
“It's hard to explain. We understand their frustration and the sadness and we are all the same. What to say? Keep helping us.
“Again they showed today when the team gives, they give back the support that we need. Today the boys showed that we are here to keep [up] the fight."
West Ham’s winless run stretches back to November 8, when they eked out relegation rivals Burnley 3-2.
Pressure is mounting on the Irons boss, but the club assured that his job was not at risk following the 3-0 defeat by Wolves last weekend.
"You know me, I'll keep on going, believing and working with the boys,” Nuno said.
“Sometimes you have good moments and bad moments but you need to be resilient enough to understand that this is the game."
