West Ham United fans staged a sit-in protest at London Stadium despite Nuno Espirito Santo's men beating Newcastle United 3-1. The Hammers have been struggling at the bottom end of the Premier League but claimed a morale-boosting win over the Magpies on Sunday. And although this victory temporarily lifted the gloom around the east London outfit, many voiced their displeasure at the club's ownership.
First win for new West Ham boss Nuno
West Ham's players gave their fans something to cheer about this weekend thanks to a comeback win over Newcastle – their first home triumph since February. Jacob Murphy's early opener was cancelled out by goals from Lucas Paqueta and Tomas Soucek, along with an own-goal from Sven Botman. The victory was Espirito Santo's first in charge of the Hammers but they still remain 18th in the Premier League and are three points from safety. But the former Nottingham Forest manager believes this game can be a springboard for his team.
He said after the contest: "I think the fans saw something in the team today and this is what we want, this is how we should look at the situation. How can we as a team, show to our fans that we want to fight, we want to change [the] situation. We want to make things tough for our opponents. We want to change our game, we want to improve our game. The fans [we] cannot thank them enough."
AdvertisementAFPWest Ham protests continue
In recent months, opposition to owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady has grown, with head coach Graham Potter's sacking only intensifying their outrage. Fans have called on them to resign and have repeatedly staged protests before, during, and after matches. The club's fan advisory board recently issued a vote of no confidence in the board, and after the Newcastle match, a few thousand angry fans stayed to chant "sack the board". Many have chosen to boycott matches for the time being but they may return if results improve.
Nuno addresses West Ham protests
While the West Ham boss will be aware of the discontent surrounding the club, the Portuguese coach – who replaced the sacked Potter in late September – thanked fans for getting behind the team and creating a great atmosphere against Eddie Howe's side.
He told reporters: "Our idea is to try and give something to our fans. And today we did give them a small thing and the way they give us back was huge and in the end the noise in the London Stadium was amazing. So we cannot thank them enough. So let's try against Burnley, give them a little bit more so they can make more noise. And we try to transform the London Stadium, [into] a very hard place for our opponents."
Getty Images SportWhat comes next for West Ham?
While this has been a dreadful start to the season for West Ham, this result could kickstart their campaign. Plus, they host 17th-placed Burnley on Saturday at home. A win could see them leapfrog Scott Parker's side in the table, which would lift everyone's spirits heading into the latest international break.
Incidentally, West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen told : "It [a win] has been a long time coming. We know we haven't been good enough at home and we wanted to change that. Sometimes you think your luck is against you and it will never change but we stuck in there. I don't think we did anything different in terms of preparation. It is us as players understanding the situation we are in and wanting to change that. Different things have gone against us, set-pieces have gone against us and defending our goal. This time we deserved the win in the end."