Frustration building at West Ham after Saints loss?

Nuno Espirito Santo was named West Ham manager in September 2025 [Getty Images] At full-time on Saturday aside from the jubilant away support, the London Stadium was a picture of frustration. Supporters had booed at half-time and did the same at the full-time whistle, partly in protest against the referee, but also due to the fact that they had just failed to win a third straight home game. Prior to being beaten by Saints, the Irons drew with QPR and lost to Fulham in the Carabao Cup. It appeared that this mood had also filtered down to the dugout, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo quick to leave his press conference after the game having answered less than two minutes of questions from the written media. Despite this, West Ham remain well in the hunt for automatic promotion after 12 Championship games. A win on Saturday would have seen them climb to the top of the table, but they remain just three points adrift of leaders Middlesbrough. The Hammers are still a dangerous side in attack and showed this against Southampton with Kyle Walker-Peters and Tomas Soucek scoring two high-quality goals. Star player Jarrod Bowen had a quiet match for his high standards but still caused Southampton left-back Ryan Manning all kinds of problems with his surging runs in and around the box. He is also the highest-scoring Championship player this season that is not a centre-forward after finding the net on six occasions. West Ham could put some of these worries behind them come Saturday, having the chance to go top of the league if they beat West Bromwich Albion and other results go their way. Latest West Ham news, analysis and fan views Ask about West Ham - what do you want to know?