West Ham can move to the top of the Championship with victory over QPR on Friday night, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side look to continue their strong run of form.
The Hammers failed to win any of their first three matches in August but have since collected four victories and a draw. Their revival began with a 4-2 win against Nuno’s former club Wolves in September.
That result was followed by a draw at Millwall, where West Ham recovered from two goals down to earn a 2-2 result at The Den. Nuno was subsequently named the Championship’s Manager of the Month for September.
“It was an important win [against Wolves],” Nuno said. “It was important for me and important for the players to achieve it. It started against Wolves and it continued to the draw at Millwall.”
The West Ham manager admitted his team had needed to improve after a poor start at Millwall, despite being pleased with their response after the interval.
“It was a good reaction from all of us in the second half, a game that didn’t start well, but we reacted well in the second half and we finished the game strong,” he said.
“It was a positive for all of us, but I still believe that we should have done things better and tried to achieve a different result. It’s in the past. Let’s try to move forward and focus on what’s to come.”
West Ham’s Championship challenge
A three-week break has given Nuno and the players who remained at the club an opportunity to recover, although the manager was concerned about the fitness of those away on international duty.
“We are proud that our players represent their own countries, but always worried because we need them to come back okay,” he said. “We have only had one day back all together. But the dynamic of the session was good and the boys that weren’t here have reintegrated.”
Victory over QPR would take West Ham to the summit before the weekend’s fixtures, but Nuno stressed that his newly assembled squad still had plenty to develop.
“We have a lot of things to improve,” he said. “It’s a squad that is new. A lot of players have joined us.
“I’ve chased this objective to always be sustainable in our performances, our play. We have major challenges ahead of us.”
Set pieces have been a notable strength, accounting for six of West Ham’s 22 goals. Konstantinos Mavropanos has scored four times in his last four matches, while fellow centre-back Max Kilman has also been identified as a threat.
“They have been so important,” Nuno said. “To have players like Dinos [Mavropanos], and Max [Kilman], they are such threats. It’s a positive. We also have the delivery and the accuracy.
“But we do need to find the balance between the offence and the defence of them. It takes a lot of time.”
West Ham’s most recent Friday night home match ended in a 6-0 victory over Wrexham, and Nuno believes the atmosphere at the London Stadium can play a significant role against QPR.
“It’s crucial for us,” he said. “Our fans have been amazing at the stadium. I hope they’re always with us, again, under the lights.
“It’s a perfect scenario for us to put in a good performance.”
