Nuno Espírito Santo believes the Championship has become an even tougher competition as West Ham United attempt to build on their three-match winning run.
The Hammers have climbed rapidly up the table after victories over Wolves, Derby County and Bolton Wanderers.
Tuesday night’s 3-2 win at Bolton briefly sent West Ham top before West Bromwich Albion moved above them.
West Ham can respond immediately when Wrexham visit London Stadium on Friday night.
But Nuno has warned that escaping the Championship will be no straightforward task.
Speaking in West Ham’s official pre-match coverage, Nuno said he believes the quality of the division has increased since his previous spell managing at this level.
“I believe it’s better now in terms of quality,” Nuno said.
“It’s more demanding as well.”
Nuno embraces West Ham Championship challenge
Nuno knows the division well.
He previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship and led them to the title during the 2017/18 season.
His West Ham challenge is now similar: build a team capable of earning promotion at the first attempt.
The opening weeks showed how difficult that task could become.
West Ham initially struggled for consistency before a seven-day run against Derby, Bolton and Wrexham emerged as an early test of their promotion credentials.
They have already won the first two matches.
Nuno believes his squad is beginning to improve as the players develop greater understanding and confidence.
That progress was visible during the 3-0 victory over Derby, when West Ham finally combined attacking threat with a Championship clean sheet.
Bolton presented a different challenge three days later.
West Ham conceded twice but recovered to win, although Nuno has subsequently identified the defensive area his side must improve.
The manager’s comments underline why promotion cannot simply be assumed because West Ham have recently been a Premier League club.
The Championship contains 46 league games and a relentless schedule.
ReadWestHam has already examined how West Ham’s current fixture congestion is testing Nuno’s squad, with Friday’s Wrexham game arriving only three days after Bolton.
Nuno at least has greater depth following a summer rebuild involving nine arrivals, which is assessed in our full West Ham squad ranking after the transfer window.
The next task is Wrexham.
Victory would give West Ham four successive Championship wins and take them to 14 points.
Our West Ham next five fixtures guide shows that the challenges will continue quickly afterwards.
Nuno appears under no illusions about the scale of the job.
West Ham have started building momentum, but their manager knows navigating this Championship season will demand much more.
