Nuno Espírito Santo, the West Ham United manager, has described his team's recent 3-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers as the worst of his career. The Premier League match, held at Molineux on Saturday, January 3, 2026, saw West Ham's struggle for survival deepen as they were comprehensively outplayed by a Wolves side that had previously not won a game this season.

The defeat leaves West Ham sitting in 18th place, four points adrift of safety. Goals from Jhon Arias, Hwang Hee-chan, and Mateus Mané in the first half sealed a comfortable victory for Wolves. Arias opened the scoring in the 4th minute, followed by Hwang's penalty in the 31st minute after Mané was fouled. Mané then added a third goal in the 41st minute, compounding West Ham's misery.

Nuno, who was appointed West Ham manager in September, didn't hold back in his assessment of the team's performance. "I have to apologise to the fans," he stated. "It was embarrassing." He further lamented the poor performance, stating, "Today was the worst performance that we have had." Nuno acknowledged the tough situation the team finds itself in, emphasizing the urgent need for results and points. He questioned the team's effort and the repeated mistakes made during the game.

The loss extends West Ham's winless streak to nine Premier League games. Their last win was against Nuno's former team, Nottingham Forest. Adding to West Ham's woes, they failed to register a single shot on target throughout the match against Wolves. The team has conceded 41 goals in the Premier League this season, the most they have conceded after 20 games in a top-flight campaign since 1965-66.

The defeat also marked the first Premier League win for Wolves under their manager, Rob Edwards. Edwards celebrated his first win in nine games as Wolves boss and the club's first league win since April. He praised his team's performance and expressed his delight for the fans.

Nuno's swift departure down the tunnel after the final whistle raised eyebrows, but he clarified that it was not meant as a sign of disrespect towards Rob Edwards, whom he has known for many years.

Looking ahead, West Ham faces a crucial home game against Nottingham Forest, a team just above them in the league table. Nuno stressed the importance of reacting, transforming, and improving. The club is also working to rebalance the squad during the January transfer window, with the recent signing of forward Pablo Felipe.