Nuno Espirito Santo called on West Ham’s players to do their part to help repair the club’s strained relationship with its fans.
The London Stadium was awash with empty seats as the Hammers were beaten 2-0 by Brentford on Monday night after the supporters group Hammers United encouraged fans to boycott the match in protest of the club’s board.
Despite a bright opening spell, the atmosphere inside the stadium turned sour after Brentford broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute through Igor Thiago, and Nuno believes the mood swing impacted his players.
“I felt it on the players that they were rushing their decisions,” said Nuno, speaking ahead of Friday night’s trip to Leeds. “I see them at work every day, and we have quality and talent enough to make five-yard passes, and those passes were not happening.
“So, there must be a reason, and it's up to us to tell the players, look, play your game. Try to ignore and focus what is inside of the pitch.”
Asked about how he could solve the mutinous atmosphere inside the London Stadium, Nuno said it was up to his players to make supporters enjoy watching West Ham again.
“It's there to see, we cannot hide ourselves from what's happening. It's up to us, I insist it's up to us, it’s up to us to connect the fans again, it's up to us to make sure that the fans go to the stadium and see something that they enjoy,” Nuno continued.
Nuno is adamant that the club’s dismal home form - the Hammers have lost five successive home games for the first time since 1931 - is not the sole reason for their struggles, adding his players had to compete better in their individual duels if they were to end a run of five defeats from their first seven league games.
“This improvement must come, first of all, from individual players, the responsibility players, that have to win their own game, their own duels, and then, for sure, as a team we're going to improve.”
“We are not getting points enough. That's the main issue, we must get points enough, and to get points, we must improve our game.
“We must play better; we must compete better. Away, at home, no matter where. In the training sessions, every day is important so we can improve.”
