West Ham make Nuno Espirito Santo sack call with players 'losing faith' and relegation closer than ever

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West Ham United are backing Nuno Espirito Santo despite reports of players "losing faith" with the Portuguese manager. Santo, 51, has struggled to turn the Hammers' fortunes around since he replaced Graham Potter at the end of September.

The east Londoners are 18th in the table, four points away from 17th placed Nottingham Forest . They also suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers , who registered their first win of the Premier League campaign against Santo's side.

West Ham have responded by wrapping up the signing of Brazilian forward Pablo Felipe for £21.7m , while Taty Castellanos of Lazio is understood to be close to arriving for £26m. But before Santo can start making plans for his new arrivals, he must win his players' confidence.

According to the Guardian , West Ham are expected to stick with Santo, despite the ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager only winning two of his 15 matches in charge.

It's also been claimed some within the Hammers' camp feel Santo's man-management and communication skills have left plenty to be desired. In the article, he has been described as being "distant and uncommunicative on a day-to-day basis."

It's also alleged many players have been left frustrated by his training methods and team selections, while some fringe members believe there is little to no hope of them forcing their way into his plans. One notable absentee is former Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse.

The former England international has not featured in a single match-day squad since Santo replaced Potter in September. He also has a history with the current West Ham manager, as the Portuguese manager cut his loan short, when he was loaned to Nottingham Forest last season while Santo was still in charge,

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However, Santo is reportedly orchestrating West Ham's transfer targets this season, which suggests he will be in his post for the foreseeable. According to Give Me Sport , Castellanos will soon undergo a medical ahead of an imminent move to the London Stadium.

Nevertheless, ex-West Ham player and manager Slaven Bilic has recently been linked with the post. Hammers fans still have fond memories of the Croatian, who was in charge for West Ham's final campaign at Upton Park, which saw them finish 7th.

After the loss to Santo's former side Wolves , the deflated West Ham boss admitted he was feeling as bad as he has ever felt on a football pitch.

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He said: "I have to apologise to the fans, I have to apologise. We have to apologise to the fans, those that travelled today, it was embarrassing.

"There's not much I can say other than we are sorry, we are sorry, because what we showed today was not good enough. We needed much more from our players.

"The way we started and the way we performed was very poor, it was embarrassing because I don't recall one day that I felt so bad on a football pitch like today."

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