Nuno Espirito Santo warns West Ham still have work to do despite bright Championship start

Nuno plays down momentum as Hammers eye top spot

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken to Sky Sports ahead of Friday night’s Championship meeting with QPR at the London Stadium, live from 7.30pm with kick-off at 8pm.

Reflecting on his return to the second tier eight years after Wolves, Nuno said the division has evolved.

"Life changes as you get older." A reflective Nuno Espirito Santo, as he looks back on how he has changed as a manager and a person since he was last in charge of a Championship club with Wolves eight years ago.

"There are a lot of things that have changed, the league has got harder. There is more quality. But some things stay the same. We still need hard work, honesty," he said.

The turning point for West Ham’s season came with a 4-2 win over Wolves at the London Stadium at the start of September after a winless August.

"It was an important win [against Wolves]," Nuno said. "It was important for me and important for the players to achieve it. It started against Wolves and it continued to the draw at Millwall."

The run yielded three wins and a draw before the international break, earning Nuno the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for September. West Ham’s last outing was a 2-2 fightback at The Den.

"It was a good reaction from all of us in the second half, a game that didn't start well, but we reacted well in the second half and we finished the game strong," Nuno added.

"It was a positive for all of us, but I still believe that we should have done things better and tried to achieve a different result. It's in the past. Let's try to move forward and focus on what's to come."

QPR test after three-week break

Up next is a home clash with QPR on Friday night. The international break gave the squad time to recover physically and mentally, though Nuno admitted to nerves about players returning fit.

"It was important for all of us. It was a very tough schedule, so having these days to not only recover physically but also mentally, of course it was too much time, but normally it is. I feel healthy, which is important."

"We are proud that our players represent their own countries, but always worried because we need them to come back okay. It's important how we receive these players. We have only had one day back all together. But the dynamic of the session was good and that the boys that weren't here have reintegrated."

A win over QPR would send West Ham top of the table ahead of the weekend’s fixtures, but Nuno is keeping perspective.

"We have a lot of things to improve. It's a squad that is new. A lot of players have joined us. I've chased this objective to always be sustainable in our performances, our play. We have major challenges ahead of us."

Set-piece strength

West Ham have scored six of their 22 goals from set pieces this season. Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos has been a key threat, scoring four in his last four.

"They have been so important," says Nuno. "To have players like Dinos [Mavropanos], and Max [Kilman], they are such threats. It's a positive. We also have the delivery and the accuracy."

"But we do need to find the balance between the offence and the defence of them. It takes a lot of time."

Nuno also highlighted the atmosphere from West Ham’s last Friday night home game, a 6-0 rout of Wrexham at the London Stadium.

"It's crucial for us. Our fans have been amazing at the stadium. I hope they're always with us, again, under the lights. It's a perfect scenario for us to put in a good performance."