West Ham relegated from the Premier League for the first time in 15 years – the scale of the problems behind the scenes revealed
Nuno Espirito Santo has fallen out with one of his players (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
West Ham defender Jean-Clair Todibo reportedly refused to play for the team after getting into an argument with manager Nuno Espirito Santo on Sunday. Despite beating Leeds 3-0, the Hammers were relegated to the Championship, as Tottenham secured safety by beating Everton.
To move Spurs into 17th place on the final day of the season, Nuno’s side needed to win and Spurs needed to lose. But Joao Parinha’s poor first-half goal was enough for Roberto De Zerbi’s side to hold on and force their London rivals into elimination.
An investigation into what went wrong has already begun at West Ham, with Nuno expected to leave the club after tense talks on Monday afternoon. And the depth of the dissatisfaction behind the scenes is illustrated by the rift between Todibo and the director.
The 26-year-old made 23 appearances for West Ham in the Premier League this season, but was left out of the squad for the game against Leeds. The defender watched the match from the stands at the London Stadium after reportedly vowing never to play for Nuno again.
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According to The Athletic, Todibo was furious that he was replaced by Nuno in the 26th minute of the 3-1 defeat in the penultimate game against Newcastle. By that point the Hammers were already losing 2-0 and Nuno replaced defender and striker Tati Castellanos, who scored a heartbreaking goal.
Todibo had an argument with Nuno over this decision, later complained to goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa, and even refused to be on the bench for the final match. The central defender has previously clashed with Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter and is unlikely to survive the summer transfer window.
However, his problems with Nuno are unlikely to last long if he remains in east London, with the Portuguese manager set to leave after board discussions. He had only arrived in September to replace Potter following his bitter departure from Nottingham Forest, but fell out of favor.
Jean-Clair Todibo did not feature in West Ham’s final game of the season (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
When asked about his future on Sunday, he replied, “It’s not about me.” “We are in a difficult position and West Ham must return to the Premier League. But now we must get through this period of sadness, understanding the frustration and anger of our fans.”
When pressed further, Nuno added: “You keep nagging me about it, but my heart is not in it, you know? Today, tomorrow, if we have a press conference, we can definitely talk about it next time. But today is about understanding how difficult it is.”
“I understand and we have to prepare for a lot of things that are going to be reported. About speculation, about all of us, about our future. But today is not the day to think about that.”
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