Everton 1-1 West Ham: “Main priority” for Nuno Espirito Santo becomes clear after “sack” chants

New West Ham United head coach Nuno Espirito Santo believes that bringing the club’s supporters and players closer together is the “main priority” and he has acknowledged that there is “a lot of work” to do at the London Stadium.

The 51-year-old was appointed as the Hammers’ new boss last Saturday less than 24 hours after the departure of predecessor Graham Potter, who was relieved of his duties after winning only 24% of his 23 games in charge over a nine-month period.

Nuno, who had been sacked himself by Nottingham Forest earlier in September, had very little time to work with his new group of West Ham players ahead of Monday’s trip to Everton, but the Hammers came away from Merseyside with a 1-1 draw courtesy of a second-half equaliser from Jarrod Bowen.

Following recent protests, chants of "sack the board" were heard from the away end at the Hill Dickinson Stadium during West Ham’s draw with Everton, before Nuno directed his players over to the travelling fans at full time in a gesture of togetherness and unity.

Nuno was full of praise for West Ham supporters after the match and hopes that a swift upturn in form will get the club’s fans back on side.

Nuno aims to “deliver” as West Ham boss amidst fan unrest and protests

As quoted by BBC Sport, Nuno said: "What I think is important is to appreciate what our fans did traveling to Liverpool on a Monday night and giving the support they've given.

“It's our main priority to come closer to our fans. We have to deliver so they can appreciate the work of the boys. Moving forward it's important."

Assessing his side’s performance against Everton, Nuno told Sky Sports: “It was a tough game, the reaction of the boys was good and I think overall we competed well.

“The boys are slowly understanding that a football match is also about how we close our own goal, how many chances we concede.

“That is something we have to work for. It is too soon to evaluate them or for them to evaluate me. It is three days, there is nothing in our history.”

Nuno addresses ‘positives and negatives’ after opening West Ham game

The Portuguese added: “We have to learn so many things. There are some positives, there are some negatives, but now it is about analysing and trying to find the right solutions.

“A lot of things we have to improve, a lot a lot of things, but this game will be the tool we use to move forward. Now we are going to analyse.

“It is all about knowing the players better, trying to take the right decisions in the right moments. Things will come naturally. It is about taking the right steps forward.

“What I saw in the goal we conceded is we should have been more aggressive, more close to [Michael] Keane. In the second half we started defending better. Everything starts from there, I think. We started well in that aspect.

“Our message today was very clear. It was about competing as a team, being close to each other, and the boys did well. Overall, it is a good first game for us.”

Despite claiming a point at Everton, West Ham remain 19th in the Premier League table with just four points after six matches, but they are only one point behind Nuno’s former club Forest who are hovering just above the relegation zone.

The Hammers face a daunting trip to title hopefuls Arsenal next Saturday before preparing for their first home game of the Nuno era against Brentford on October 20 after the international break.