Nuno Espirito Santo was interviewed live on national radio on Saturday about West Ham’s summer of upheaval and prospects for the new season.
He was hardly gushing with enthusiasm as he spoke of boardroom uncertainty, the need for further signings and pressure of being promotion favourites.
Most tellingly perhaps, the Hammers boss stressed the importance of resilience and how a collective desire is crucial in negotiating a marathon 46-game Championship campaign.
Twenty-four hours later, those qualities were ultimately lacking at Turf Moor as West Ham surrendered victory in their first game outside the top flight for 14 years.
The Hammers, without playing particularly well, found themselves 2-0 up in the 72nd minute after goals from defender Max Kilman and debutant Manor Solomon.
Burnley could have easily buckled at that point. Instead it was Nuno’s men who capitulated during a dramatic final quarter as the outstanding Zian Flemming scored twice to level matters.
The Hammers, without playing particularly well, found themselves 2-0 up in the 72nd minute – but capitulated during a dramatic final quarter
Flemming, who caused the Hammers’ defence untold problems all afternoon, scored twice to level matters at the death
Having dropped 20 points from winning positions last season, Nuno’s mood was dark as he admitted: ‘It’s disappointing.
‘We had a very good first half and when we scored the second goal we should have done better to get the result. There are many things that we have to improve on.’
Having failed to save the club from relegation last term, Nuno knows that nothing less than promotion will do this season.
His men led in the 10th minute when Kilman headed home an inswinging corner from captain Jarrod Bowen, who stayed loyal instead of jumping ship this summer.
West Ham fans, who aired vicious chants against the unpopular former co-chair David Sullivan, were delighted when Mohamadou Kante reached the right-hand byline and crossed low for Solomon to slam home from six yards.
Game over? Not a chance.
Flemming, who caused the Hammers’ defence untold problems all afternoon – nodding against a post and then having a header cleared off the line before the hour – then took centre stage in the final quarter.
The Dutch striker converted an 83rd-minute penalty after Ollie Scarles’ clumsy challenge on Marcus Edwards and was then on hand to rifle home a low right-foot level in the second minute of added time, sparking wild home celebrations.
Nuno signed West Ham United broke the EFL transfer record by paying £22m for Celtic midfielder Arne Engels over the weekend but he wants more new faces.
The Portuguese, who named a handful of academy products on the bench, added: ‘We need more players – especially offensively.’
The contrast in mood between Nuno and new Burnley boss Nicky Hayen could not have been greater.
Hayen, a relatively unknown Belgian, celebrated his 46th birthday in style, saying: ‘We played a good game and showed a lot of courage and resilience so I’m really satisfied.
‘We wanted to make a connection with the fans and bring the energy to the stadium for 95 minutes.
‘That’s exactly what we did and the fans supported us – you could feel the adrenaline.’
The concern for Burnley fans as the window remains open is that Flemming, who scored 12 Premier League goals last season, could be sold before the deadline.
Hayen added with a smile: ‘Well, it didn’t help that he scored twice today!
‘But we have the ambition to go up and we showed resilience get a point – yet maybe we deserved more.’
