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West Ham United made FA Cup progress by beating Burton Albion on Saturday but ensuring Premier League survival surely remains Nuno Espirito Santo’s priority.
Indeed, West Ham United – despite a recent uplift in form – remain in the relegation zone in the Premier League table.
Though the Hammers are one of the form teams in the Premier League as things stand, the fact is that they are still three points off Nottingham Forest and thereby safety with just 12 matches to play.
How many points will be needed to keep us up this season?! 🤔
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport
Unless Nuno can bridge that gap, the Irons are going down into the Championship for the first time since the 2011/12 season.
Star midfielder Mateus Fernandes, however, has revealed a message from the West Ham coach.
Speaking in the immediate wake of West Ham’s draw with Manchester United, Fernandes said (via West Ham’s official website): “The first thing he [Nuno] said after the game was ‘if we play like this, we’ll be OK in the Premier League’.
West Ham played very well against Manchester United, who were in fine fettle themselves. If they can replicate that going forward, then relegation worries may soon be a thing of the past.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty ImagesWest Ham United’s chances of staying up significantly boosted by historical precedent
Though the club have been a fixture in the Premier League for well over a decade now, they have not been without their struggles in the top flight.
Relegated twice since the advent of the Premier League as a competition in 1992, Hammers fans will sadly be familiar with this kind of situation.
The good news is that, historically, the Irons have pulled themselves out of the mire before.
In the five seasons that West Ham have recorded as few as 24 points after 26 games, they have stayed up three times.
In three separate campaigns (2006/07, 2019/20 and 2022/23), West Ham have taken 15 points or more in their last 12 Premier League games. If they were to do that this time around – and recent form suggests they could – they would finish on 39 points, which has been enough to stay up for a while now.
How do these appointments make you feel about the relegation battle? 👀
Credit: Getty Images/Marc Atkins/Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto West Ham United are scaring Nottingham Forest in the relegation battle
Forest sacked Sean Dyche because they are wary of West Ham’s form, with the Irons having won three of their last five Premier League games.
Over that period, they sit fourth in the form table.
The idea of Nuno, who was sacked by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis in September, keeping West Ham up at their expense would be hugely embarrassing.
It’s something that reportedly played into Forest’s thinking when they decided to sack Dyche earlier this week.
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