Jamie O’Hara says West Ham are ‘sleepwalking into the Championship’ after Brentford defeat
West Ham’s terrible start to the season continued on Monday Night Football with a 2-0 defeat to fellow relegation rivals Brentford.
Some West Ham fans boycotted the Brentford match in protest against the club’s ownership, and they’re happy they did as goals from Igor Thiago and Mathias Jensen sank the Hammers to their sixth defeat in eight matches.
Nuno Espirito Santo only replaced Graham Potter at the end of September, but the Portuguese tactician has done little to transform the mood around the London Stadium, with West Ham sitting in 19th position.
Worryingly, in their harrowing loss to the Bees, the hosts only mustered an xG of 0.35 and registered just seven shots on goal, highlighting just how difficult it will be for them to avoid relegation.
West Ham are ‘sleepwalking into the Championship’
In the Premier League this season, West Ham rank third bottom for expected goals scored and expected goals against, something Nuno will have to fix quickly to begin their charge up the table.
Meanwhile, with all three promoted teams performing well, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara thinks the Irons are ‘sleepwalking into the Championship’.
"They're going down, they're sleepwalking into the Championship" ❌
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 21, 2025
"One of the worst performances I've ever seen, it was DISGUSTING"
Jamie O'Hara has strong words to say about West Ham after a 2-0 home defeat last night ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/8jg4Q95YId
Analysing their defeat to Brentford on Sky Sports, O’Hara said: “They are going down, they are sleep walking into the Championship. They’re terrible, that performance last night, Tom, terrible.
“It was unacceptable from a West Ham team, how they think they can turn up at home and play in that manner, no passion, no fight, no organisation, no team ethic, nothing.
“I saw absolutely nothing from them whatsoever. I feel for Nuno, and he’s just gone in there. And they’re in disarray, they’re protesting outside the ground, it’s a toxic atmosphere, they’re sleepwalking into the Championship.”
West Ham’s visit to Leeds United on Friday night is an early relegation six-pointer, and failure to win at Elland Road could leave them cut adrift inside the bottom three.
What Nuno Espirito Santo said after Brentford loss
Nuno is known for his defensive prowess, having transformed Nottingham Forest into one of the league’s best at keeping it tight at the back.
So far, he’s struggled to have a similar impact at West Ham, and he admitted in his post-match press conference that he’s ‘very far’ from achieving his desired identity.
“It is very far. For a while all of us want [to find an identity] but we have to persist and commit ourselves to achieve it,” Nuno said.
“I think we are all concerned. You can feel it from our own fans. You can see that they are concerned. Then this concern becomes silence, silence becomes anxiety, and we have a problem, we have a problem.
“It is understandable. Since I arrived, [there has been a] clear awareness that it’s up to us to change. It is up to us to change this.”
However, while Nuno will address the issues he has encountered, the players also have to look at themselves, and their attitude has been unacceptable.