West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo apologises for 'embarrassing' defeat to Wolves – I never felt so bad on a football pitch

03.01.2026, 21:52 skysports.com

Nuno Espirito Santo apologised following West Ham's 3-0 defeat to Wolves, describing the result as "embarrassing" and admitting he has never felt worse on a football pitch.

Facing a team without a Premier League win all season, West Ham were three down before half-time and never looked like fighting their way back into the game.

Unable to force Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa into a single save, West Ham gifted their opponents a first clean sheet of the campaign, extending their own winless run to nine games. West Ham are four points from safety as the pressure builds on Nuno.

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"I have to apologise to the fans, I have to apologise," he said. "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."

Nuno added: "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."

Asked to elaborate on what it was that his players did not deliver, Nuno explained: "It was a failure of many things, mistakes and not reacting to those mistakes, making mistakes and then a second mistake and over and over again not being able to control and create any situation of danger.

"I think we didn't achieve one shot on goal, so that says a lot."

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Nottingham Forest, the team immediately above West Ham in the Premier League table, visit the London Stadium on Tuesday evening. There is work to do but not much time in which to do it.

"Now it's about recovery, it's a quick turnaround, recovering not only physically but more than anything, it's to address the situation and being clear among ourselves that we need much more today," added Nuno.

"I am particularly sad to say this but what I saw today from our players is not good enough."

The Irons did have new signing Pablo, acquired from Portuguese club Gil Vicente, among the substitutes but he did not come on at Molineux. Taty Castellanos has also been linked with an impending move as West Ham try to spend their way out of trouble.

But Nuno knows that it will amount to little unless the existing players show far more than they did against Wolves.

"It's not only about the players that are coming, I think those that are here, we are the ones that should improve and make our signings that they are going to join us, find themselves in a better team, a team that competes much better than we did today."

Such is the pessimism of supporters that those of every club will have feared for some time that they would be the club to provide Wolves with their first win. It seems fitting that it was West Ham. A team playing with even less confidence than the bottom club.

Wolves had only led in three of their previous 19 games this season and never by more than one goal - winning none of them. That West Ham contrived to go in three down at the break shows just how abject they were, failing to win duels or track runners. Awful.

The away fans started chanting about their own relegation early on. They joined in with the songs that were mocking their own team. Even booed their own player Max Kilman. It was the Wolves fans singing Nuno's name not them. Jeered at half-time and full-time.

The lack of a meaningful response after the interval was almost as damning. Wolves had not kept a clean sheet prior to this either but West Ham failed to force a save from Sa. Asked to chase the game in the second half, they had nothing attacking to offer.

Unlike Wolves, there is time for West Ham to salvage their Premier League status. But that game at home to Forest has taken on greater importance now. Lose that and they will be seven points from safety. The mood must change very fast if they are to stop it.

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