West Ham go into West Ham vs QPR on Friday night with Nuno Espirito Santo saying the squad had only one day back together after a three-week break. The match is live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm, with kick-off at 8pm, and it comes after a run that has changed the mood around West Ham since a difficult start to the season.
That is why the fixture is being searched now: West Ham have gone from failing to win their first three games in August to beating Wolves 4-2 at the London Stadium, then adding three more wins and a draw before the international break. Nuno’s team were also handed the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for September, a reward for a stretch that has lifted expectations around the club.
Nuno said the experience of managing in the Championship has changed since he was last there with Wolves eight years ago. The league, he said, has more quality and is harder now, but the basics still matter. West Ham, in his view, still need hard work and honesty if they want the good run to keep going. That is the backdrop to Friday’s game: a side with momentum, but one that has had very little time to reset before a live test.
The pause has helped and it has complicated things at the same time. Nuno said the squad used the three-week break to recover physically and mentally after what he called a very tough schedule, yet he also made clear that too much time can be a problem. West Ham also have players coming back in at different stages after international duty, which means the manager has had to judge not just fitness, but how quickly the group can click again. He said the dynamic in training was good, and that the players who were away had reintegrated, but there is no hiding the fact that the side have had almost no full-time togetherness before a match that arrives quickly.
West Ham’s recent results suggest they can handle that test. After the 4-2 win over Wolves, they drew 2-2 at Millwall at The Den after coming back from two goals down, a result Nuno called a good reaction even if he felt his team could still have done things better. Friday night now asks the same question in sharper form: whether a team rebuilt by form and confidence can carry both through a short week and into another live outing, starting at 8pm.
