Newcastle United’s hopes of landing their first three points away from home in the Premier League this campaign have been handed a boost by West Ham’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford.
The Hammers, who are second bottom in the table, two points ahead of basement side Wolves, were unable to match the Bees at the London Stadium on Monday night, much to the concern of new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
To make matters worse, defender Konstantinos Mavropanos limped off in the second half, and is now a major doubt for Newcastle’s visitr on November 2.
The Hammers have won just once all season in the league – a surprise 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, with Nuno replacing Graham Potter as head coach at the end of September.
However, he has been unable to turn around their fortunes in the short-term, and admits his side have some big problems to address ahead of Newcastle’s visit.
“Not good enough. Poor,” was his blunt assessment after Monday’s defeat to Keith Andrews’ side. “Fairly Brentford won the game, they were the better team.
“I think we are all concerned. You can see our own fans are concerned. Concern becomes anxiety, becomes silence. We have a problem.
“It’s understandable. It’s up to us to change. The fans need to see something that pleases them and they can support us and give us energy.
“I understand it, I understand it totally, and I respect it. It’s up to us, it’s up to us to change it.”