It has been quite a while since West Ham United were last outside the Premier League’s relegation zone. To find the last time they won three top-flight matches in a row, you would have to go back even further.
The 3-2 victory over Burnley before the international break means West Ham are now level with Scott Parker’s Clarets on ten points apiece.
That Tomas Soucek-inspired comeback was not enough to lift the Hammers above the bottom three, though. To do that, they had to beat Burnley by four clear goals. Thanks to a late Alphonse Areola clanger and a Josh Cullen consolation on his London Stadium return, West Ham United’s goal difference improved by only one, in the end.
Going into matchday twelve, though, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have a slightly more straightforward task. Forget about goal difference. This is all about winning. Or, at the very least, not losing.
Should Burnley end up defeated at home to Chelsea in Saturday’s early kick-off, even a draw would take West Ham into 17th.
If Newcastle lose to Manchester City, if Fulham lose to Sunderland and Leeds lose to Aston Villa – which all feels very possible – Nuno’s team could even end the weekend in the vertigo-inducing heights of 14th. Then again, this is all dependent on whether West Ham can get a win away at Bournemouth.
Andoni Iraola has been full of praise for Nuno and the impact he is belatedly having in East London. Before recording successive wins over Burnley and Newcastle, some were fearing a Derby County-esque points tally from a Hammers side enduring their worst start to a season in 52 years.
Now, they are one win away from climbing out of the relegation zone for the first time since beating Nottingham Forest in August. And one win away from recording three consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since December 2023.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWest Ham United have not won three straight Premier League games in 23 months
It was a very impressive run at that.
A 3-0 thrashing of Wolves, a 2-0 victory over Manchester United, and an away win at local rivals Arsenal which really warmed the Christmas cockles. Angelo Ogbonna started, Said Benrahma scored, and Thilo Kehrer was on the bench that day in North London.
This alone should highlight just how long it has been since West Ham racked up nine points out of a possible nine.
Four managers, 23 months, and 67 Premier League games ago.
What will be the result of Bournemouth vs West Ham?
“I think they [have] improved offensively and defensively in the last games,” Iraola said during his press conference on Friday. “I think the more time they obviously spend with Nuno, the better they are going to become.
“Nuno is doing very well. Nuno is a coach who was very successful, especially in the past season with Forest. He has been also successful with other clubs in the Premier League. And to win now, I think two games back-to-back, it’s very difficult in the Premier League to do this.
“I suppose they come with confidence in kind of in a good place. But we also need the points. We need to win after our last two defeats, and I hope we are ready.”
Nuno Espirito Santo is demanding further improvements from the Hammers at Bournemouth
West Ham can move to within five points of Saturday’s opponents with a win. And while Iraola’s perennial overachievers go into this weekend as favourites, the Cherries have not beaten the Hammers since 2019.
Nuno will accept no West Ham complacency, though. Successive wins should breed positivity, but not complacency. Never complacency.
“What we are going to face at Bournemouth on Saturday is a tough, tough opponent,” Nuno said. “What I know watching those [Newcastle and Burnley wins] back, doesn’t really matter. What you did before – good or bad – it’s finished. It’s going to be a new game on Saturday.
“Of course, we can look and take aspects, but it’s a new game. Believe me, it’s always something new that’s going to happen. We achieved something really good for us, but it’s over. We are always trying to compete the same, home or away.
“We are still chasing that aspect of the game, to sustain our levels of performance. It is a challenge for us to do that.
“I admire [Iraola]. I think he’s doing an amazing job at Bournemouth. He’s a nice guy but we are going to be opponents. Two teams fighting for the same goal.”