Nuno Espirito Santo cut a forlorn figure after he watched his former Nottingham Forest players plunge his West Ham team into further relegation crisis.
Forest came from behind at The London Stadium. A Murillo own goal had left Forest with a mountain to climb but second-half goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White ensured victory for the Reds.
Sean Dyche was in sarcastic spirits after the game, but he will know the importance of this huge win and the platform it now gives for the football club moving forward.
Dyche-ball is different from last season’s strategy under Espirito Santo, and Rob Green has now delivered a verdict on the style of play.
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Rob Green delivers Nottingham Forest verdict
The Reds will take these three points and run but it’s fair to say that West Ham will feel aggrieved with the penalty call that gave Forest the win.
Alphonse Areola did make contact with Gibbs-White but his intention was solely to play the ball, despite the fact he ended up catching the Forest man in the face.
⭐Who was your STAR MAN during Nottingham Forest’s win over West Ham
Green seemed a little bit sour for his former club last night and told Sky Sports that he misses the Forest that were so good to watch last night.
He said: “Forest were not good tonight. I miss watching Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Callum Hudson-Odoi linking up on the left, they don’t do that anymore. I want to see it. They’ve got to work on that, they’ve not played well tonight, but ultimately they’ve still won the game and now they have that big platform to build from.”
Dyche has to improve performances
Forest got lucky in the sense that West Ham are so terribly fragile at the moment, and once Dominguez equalised, the home support turned toxic.
As Green rightly says, Forest didn’t really play well, even if they were the better side from the moment the Argentine scored.
3️⃣A HUGE three points for Nottingham Forest against West Ham, what was your verdict on the game?
Let us know your one-word verdict on tonight's match below…👇
Dyche will point to the fact that a football match was won but if he’s to turn the fan base back in his favour, he’s got to oversee a more fluid style of play, given the attacking quality at his disposal.
Forest now have a brilliant platform to remain in the Premier League this season but for Dyche, he’s got to find a way to let these players express themselves better and if he doesn’t do that, this could prove a short-term gig for the head coach.
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