West Ham Manager Explains His View on the Premier League Survival Fight

West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo doesn't believe the Premier League relegation battle is a 'two-horse race'. Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have pulled away from the bottom three, leaving the Hammers and their London rivals Tottenham on either side of the dreaded line. West Ham currently sit two points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham, three points behind Forest, and four points adrift of Leeds, who are on the 'magic' 40-point mark. The Hammers' final four matches begin with an away trip to Brentford on Saturday and culminate with a visit to Leeds on the final day, a fixture Nuno believes could still prove decisive.

“I see it as a whole picture. I think nothing in the table is decided, no matter where you are or what we are fighting for. This year is so competitive in all positions that everything will go down to the wire,” Santo stated. A quirk in the fixture schedule means West Ham will play before Tottenham in each of the next three rounds of matches. Consequently, Tottenham will travel to Birmingham to face Aston Villa on Sunday, knowing West Ham's result 24 hours earlier, but Nuno doesn't view this as a disadvantage.

“Look, I don't see it as an issue. We try to isolate ourselves from that aspect. Whether we play after, before, or at the same time, it's up to us. What we try to do is protect our players and our team. Because you cannot control what happens outside. It will be Saturday and the next day, but as long as we focus on ourselves, I think we can do better,” Santo added.

Nevertheless, Nuno will be watching Tottenham's match on Sunday and says his players are free to do the same. “Everyone is free to do whatever they want. Me? Of course, I will watch the game. Some players will watch the game. But we cannot get distracted by that. The priority, believe me, is what we do,” the Portuguese concluded.