There's a secret ingredient Nuno Espirito Santo doesn't have anymore at West Ham and it proves why his reign was doomed from the start, leaving him defenceless and appearing aloof and hostile to players and staff

When West Ham appointed Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager, it looked a smart move from a club who have made all too few of them in recent times.

Though he had struggled at Tottenham , Nuno’s impressive stints at Wolves and Nottingham Forest suggested he would be an ideal fit for a club of similar size and status.

Yet those who understand Nuno’s way of working feared his stint in east London would be doomed from the start.

When Nuno has had success in English football, at Wolves from 2017-21 and then last season at Nottingham Forest, he has been able to lean on a group of key advisers he trusts completely.

Rui Pedro Silva was at his side at Molineux and, after going their separate ways, the pair were reunited at Forest. Sports psychologist Julio Figueroa is another confidant along with Joao Lapa. Lapa, a fitness coach who has also been an agent, was at Nuno’s side for most of his time at Wolves and had rejoined Forest last summer. The only one who followed him to the Hammers was goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa.

When Nuno was sacked by Forest, nobody was surprised. Relations with the club hierarchy had deteriorated to such an extent that his departure in September felt inevitable. Here is the sting in the tail: given his staff remained under contract, Forest were entitled to significant compensation to allow them to rejoin Nuno. These terms have still to be matched by West Ham.

When Nuno has had success in English football, such as last season at Nottingham Forest, he has been able to lean on a group of key advisers he trusts completely

But he is now cutting a lonely and miserable figure at West Ham, where just one of his staff - goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa - joined him

Nuno is a severe character. His management style is teacher/pupil, rather than uncle/nephew. When it works, his key men are devoted to him. Players wept when Nuno told the squad at the end of the 2020-21 campaign that he would be leaving Wolves. A similarly powerful spirit nearly carried Forest into the Champions League last term.

For this to work, however, Nuno needs his key cast of characters. A sensitive man capable of great warmth, Nuno can nonetheless appear aloof at times, even hostile. If players knock on his door to ask why they have been left out, they are likely to leave disappointed.

His approach to injury management is also different from the one preferred by many UK strength and conditioning coaches, and this can lead to clashes with existing club staff.

This is where Silva and Figueroa came in. Silva was a perfect foil for Nuno, often filtering players’ concerns before they reached Nuno, and communicating Nuno’s position back to the squad. Nuno also leans heavily on Figueroa to ensure he is in the right frame of mind for the battles ahead.

Perhaps it was not only the issue of compensation that stopped Nuno’s allies rejoining him, though. Daily Mail Sport understands some of Nuno’s team were not entirely happy with the way his Forest exit unfolded.

Allegedly unimpressed by the arrival of Edu as global head of football, Nuno was publicly critical of the club’s transfer policy. Someone as smart as Nuno knew he was risking the sack and would surely have known, too, that this might leave his staff high and dry. It would be no surprise if some of them wished he had gone about things differently.

The timing of Nuno’s appointment was also curious. The 51-year-old does his best work when he has a full pre-season, not only to instil his tactical ideas, but to create a family atmosphere.

He urges players to spend long hours together at the training ground, believing that if they can rely on each other off the pitch, they will do so automatically on it. These ties are hard to create in the middle of a season, especially when Premier League survival is on the line.

Nuno built a wonderful family atmosphere among his players at Forest, but has struggled to do the same at West Ham after being parachuted in mid-season

Key lieutenant Rui Pedro Silva is back at Wolves, helping Rob Edwards. Nuno has always been open to a second spell at Molineux

Whether Nuno has the chance to turn things around remains to be seen. Towards the end at Forest, Nuno spoke about whether that might be his last job in football. He misses family who continue to live in Portugal.

He fell in love with Wolverhampton, donating £250,000 to charities in the city during his final season, and was happy in Nottingham, too. Nuno enjoyed spending time in those places and the chance meetings with fans in the street. Travelling between West Ham’s training ground and the upmarket apartment complexes of London’s Canary Wharf, such encounters are few and far between.

As for Silva, he is back at Wolves, helping Rob Edwards in what seems a virtually impossible fight for survival. Nuno has always been open to a second spell at Molineux and, had Wolves sacked Vitor Pereira before Nuno took the West Ham job, there is a decent chance he would be back there now.

Maybe that would have been better for all parties. Because sooner or later, this latest episode in Nuno’s career appears destined to end in tears.