- Nuno Espirito Santo speaking ahead of Aston Villa vs West Ham on Sunday
- Update on Crysencio Summerville
- How his players deserve their international call ups
West Ham United head to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon looking to continue their climb out of the bottom three. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team are in good form and looking to build on their 1-1 home draw with Manchester City last weekend.
The result has seen West Ham stay level on points with Nottingham Forest, only in the relegation zone on goal difference. With Forest taking on Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, the Hammers know a good result will see them spend the international break out of the bottom three.
Things won’t be easy for the Irons, with Aston Villa determined to make the Champions League places this season. Despite this, Unai Emery’s team are on a slide and also played in Europe in midweek, with West Ham hoping to take some advantage of tired legs this weekend.
Nuno’s thoughts
On Jarrod Bowen’s England call up: “I’m very happy and I think it’s deserved.
“For West Ham, it’s good that as many players as we have available for national teams are called-up and they enjoy it. It’s always positive. It’s one of the major goals for players individually, to play for their countries.
“Jarrod’s priority is the Club and the team. That’s what he’s doing every day and he is doing it very well. After that there are always consequences.”
On how El Hadji Malick Diouf has been since the AFCON final verdict: “I watched the game (2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco) and I recall perfectly what happened (Senegal left the pitch after a penalty was awarded against them, then returned, the penalty was saved and Senegal won the game in extra-time. CAF have now overturned the decision, stripped Senegal of the title and announced Morocco as champions).
“What happens in the pitch stays in the pitch for me. For me, Malick is a champion, it’s over and all the decisions that come after that. For Malick, he’s happy and he deserves a medal.”
On Mateus Fernandes’s first senior Portugal call up: “Mateus is playing well, competing really well and I think he’s improving since the beginning.
“He’s an immensely talented player. He takes a lot of responsibility for the team. He deserves to be called-up by Portugal. I hope he enjoys it because he’s going to have great competition there but it’s a deserved one because he’s playing really good.”
On how the focus remains on West Ham: “We are talking about national teams because now it is the time for call-ups but it is not an issue for us. During our day-to-day we don’t talk about national teams.
“All the players understand that, to be even considered for their national teams, they have to do their jobs for the Club and this is what I speak with them.
“I make them realise they have to do their jobs and their tasks and play good and enjoy, and then after that anything can happen.”
On the for form of Konstantinos Mavropanos: “Dinos has been really, really helpful for us. Since I joined, I don’t remember one day he wasn’t there. He’s a warrior.
“Of course, our fans and everybody notice the highlights with him scoring the penalty and the goal, but he’s been doing an amazing job.”
On why he believes Aston Villa will still be a threat despite form: “I don’t see Villa struggle. I saw the game on Thursday and I saw a very good team. Unai is an amazing manager and the quality of their players and the way they play football is really, really tough.
“My objective now is what they have been doing, what they did yesterday and what we expect. It’s not comparing. I know we’re going to face a very tough opponent.”
On being at a pivotal part of the season: “I don’t do points targets. I am focused on the game and us and it’s not a moment to make counts.
“It’s a moment to focus on our day and how we’re preparing ourselves for a tough place to go. This is what we are focused on.
“We have reached a moment when everything is pivotal and decided as it’s the final moments of the season. All the decisions will come now.”
