West Ham United’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday night left captain Jarrod Bowen feeling that, while relegation is a very real possibility this season, it is far from a given.
‘Doomed’ is a word which has been uttered in relation to West Ham United’s Premier League status with ever-growing regularity throughout the Nuno Espirito Santo era.
Yet, such is the nature of things this season, one weekend’s worth of action can turn everything on its head.
Should West Ham beat Wolves away from home on Saturday – and they really should be beating Wolves away from home on Saturday – Nuno’s side could start 2026 just one point adrift of safety. That is, of course, provided Nottingham Forest lose to Aston Villa in the early kick-off.
Jarrod Bowen has rediscovered his goalscoring ways with three in his last five games. El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will be back soon from the Africa Cup of Nations but, in their absence, Ollie Scarles has hit back at his critics while Kyle Walker-Peters continues to prove himself to be an addition of real value.
DESCRIBE Ollie Scarles’ performance in one word!
What a response from the youngster
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Nuno was pleased with the intensity of his team’s performance, meanwhile. Going ahead twice against Brighton before showing the resolve required to survive a late onslaught.
And there was one moment, in particular, which gives Bowen hope that the ‘Great Escape’ of 2007 can be repeated.
Jarrod Bowen pleased with West Ham United’s ‘fighting spirit’ against Brighton
Former Upton Park stalwart James Collins recently reflected on the togetherness and the fighting spirit which underpinned that iconic survival story.
Alan Curbishley could rely on Carlos Tevez’s brilliance, of course. But the Argentine’s heroics were only possible because of the united front provided by his teammates during a run of seven wins in their last nine games.
Bowen hopes this current West Ham side can pick up where Tevez and co left off, with the fiery confrontation between the two sets of players following Danny Welbeck’s Panenka nightmare leaving the skipper confident in the battling spirit of his teammates.
Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images
“That fighting spirit is what you need,” Bowen says, Alphonse Areola, Mateus Fernandes and young Freddie Potts getting in the face of Welbeck after his cheeky penalty rebounded off the bar.
“That fight, that desire to win will get you points in this league. And I think we need to show more of that week in, week out. Be a proper horrible team to play against. When teams come here, we need to make it horrible to come here, be a nasty team to play against, be a real streetwise side.
“So, for me, the handbags, I want to see more of that from us as a team going forward.”
Bowen is demanding a win as Nuno Espirito Santo prepares for Wolves return
On another disappointing night for the Hammers backline, though, Nuno was ‘disappointed’ to see Areola flap at a corner eventually converted from close range by Joel Veltman. Both Max Kilman and Lucas Paqueta gave away penalties in the blinking of a first-half eye.
How Nuno could do with a defender of the stature of the aforementioned James Collins these days, not to mention a modern-day Anton Ferdinand.
Points shared at the London Stadium ❌
How do you feel as West Ham drop MORE points?
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“In the situation that we’re in, we obviously need three points,” Bowen adds, West Ham’s defensive record the second-worst in the league behind bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“From Saturday [against Fulham] to tonight, performances have been better, but we know the situation that we’re in. We need points, not just good performances. We need points to go with it.
“But listen, like I’ve always said, it’s down to us. We have to go out there and win the games ourselves. That’s it. And that’s still the same message. We’ve got two more games coming up in a busy week where we have to go and win those games.
“As simple as that.”
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