Nuno Espírito Santo praised West Ham United’s response at Millwall but warned there remains plenty to improve after Saturday’s 2-2 draw.
The Hammers endured a poor opening half at The Den and trailed 2-0 following goals from Caleb Taylor and Camiel Neghli.
Mohamadou Kanté and Konstantinos Mavropanos rescued a point after the break before Kanté was sent off late on.
Nuno unhappy with West Ham first half
Speaking after the game, Nuno admitted West Ham struggled to cope with Millwall’s physical approach.
The head coach told Sky Sports that his side were imprecise in possession and failed to deal properly with the hosts’ physicality during the opening period.
“We knew what we were going to find but we didn’t do well,” Nuno said.
West Ham improved dramatically after the interval.
Kanté struck from distance before Mavropanos headed home Manor Solomon’s delivery to complete the comeback, as detailed in our Millwall 2-2 West Ham match report.
The official West Ham interview also carried Nuno’s message that the reaction was encouraging but there were still “lots of things to improve”.
That is the balance West Ham must take from the derby.
The second-half fight demonstrated the character within Nuno’s squad, but the opening 45 minutes showed why further improvement is required if the Hammers are to sustain a promotion challenge.
Kanté’s late dismissal also leaves Nuno with another decision before the next Championship game against QPR.
