From ‘impossible task’ to ‘hope’ – will West Ham stay up?

On 6 January West Ham lost 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest and were seven points off safety and on a 10-match winless run.

Survival was being described as “looking more and more an impossible task” by former Hammers goalkeeper Rob Green.

Fast-forward three weeks and back-to-back Premier League wins, including a dominant 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday, have taken the Hammers to within two points of 17th.

It also increased pressure on relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.

So will West Ham save their season?

The hosts were superb against the Black Cats, scoring three goals in a fantastic first half through Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen and Mateus Fernandes.

The result meant West Ham had won three games in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2023.

“After losing to Nottingham Forest they were seven points adrift and it was all looking a bit bleak but they’ve clawed their way back to a position where they’ve got a bit of hope now,” said former Wales captain Ashley Williams, who is a pundit on Saturday’s BBC Match of the Day.

“Until recently I couldn’t see how Nuno Espirito Santo was going to turn it around. Even when they signed the two new forwards I still didn’t think they would have enough to stay up – and they still might not – but the manager seems to have stopped the rot and some of the pressure has eased on him.

“Forest are now probably looking over their shoulders a bit nervously whereas before there seemed to be three teams cast adrift at the bottom.”

There have only ever been six teams that have avoided Premier League relegation having been seven or more points from safety after at least 21 games played.

They are:

The Hammers play top-five chasers Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool before the end of February.

But they also take on relegation rivals Burnley away from home and host Bournemouth next month.

Backed by the creativity of England winger Bowen, goals have not been a problem for West Ham this season.

But the London club remain leaky at the back and have the division’s worst defence, having not kept a single clean sheet all season.

“Back-to-back wins make such a difference when you’re down there. Now they’re within touching distance and there’s more belief and vibrancy around the football club,” said former Brighton and Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray on BBC One’s Final Score.

“I was always quite positive on West Ham because when you’re down there a lot of the conversation is often around not being able to score goals, but West Ham can – they’ve got plenty of goals and they’ve even added to that firepower in January.

“The positive for Nuno against Sunderland was the game management. They’ve gone ahead on quite a few occasions and not been able to see it out, but they did very well.

“I don’t think there’s any question about the quality of West Ham, it’s just the application and their defensive problems shipping too many goals.”

The Hammers were again inspired by captain Bowen, who contributed a goal from the penalty spot after an assist for Summerville with a wicked cross.

In doing so the 29-year-old Englishman became the outright Premier League goal involvements leader for West Ham (102 – 62 goals and 40 assists), overtaking Michail Antonio (101).

He has also scored and assisted in 11 different Premier League games for West Ham, the most of any player for the club, overtaking Paolo di Canio on 10.

“That’s the best I have seen West Ham play all season,” added former defender Williams.

“The Hammers dominated the game, especially the first half. They played with a lot more energy and creativity, with both Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen being very good.

“I haven’t seen too much yet from January signings Taty Castellanos and Pablo but bringing them in does allow Bowen to play his more favoured position, where he seems more comfortable.

“If you look at the first goal, Bowen creates it from out wide, where he can create as well as score goals. He was the talisman today.”

Bowen, who joined the club from Hull City on transfer deadline day in January 2020, has been the club’s top scorer in four of the past five seasons.