West Ham could face 'massive issues' amid Nuno Espirito Santo claim
Nuno Espirito Santo is "already under pressure" at West Ham United just four games into the Championship season.
The Hammers have endured a slow start to life in the second tier, with Tuesday night's win against Wolves their first since suffereing relegation from the Premier League.
While Nuno will hope his side can push on from a big win against a potential promotion rival, there are lingering concerns about the boss' future amonst the fanbase.
Former West Ham scout Mick Brown warned Football Insider that Nuno's side need to put a run of form together "sooner rather than later" or he will come under pressure.
There are already question marks after a slow start to the season, although there is an understanding that Championship football can come as a shock to the system for relegated teams.
West Ham have clear goals to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and if results do not improve quickly, doubts will start to creep in.
While very little stake can be put into those predictions, especially at this stage of the season, concerns have begun to grow amongst the fanbase after a frustrating start.
Nuno's future was up in the air following the Hammers' relegation from the Premier League, and it is unlikely to take a major swing for them to let him go this season.
"West Ham are very clear about their ambitions for this season," Brown told Football Insider.
"They want to get promoted back into the Premier League, anything less than that will be seen as a failure, and could cause massive issues for the club going forward.
"So that's why question marks have been raised about what has been a poor start to the season, because they had expected more.
"It's difficult for clubs dropping out of the Premier League, sometimes you can be complacent, or you just don't realise how tough it is, and you can struggle in the Championship.
"Especially in the early stages, it can take some time to adjust, and that seems to be what West Ham are going through at the moment.
"But results will need to improve quickly, because fingers are going to start to be pointed at the manager, and it won't take a lot for those fans to become disinterested.
"He's already under pressure, because they're expecting wins every week, even though it's not quite as simple as that.
"The board know how important it is to win promotion, so if they don't look like putting themselves in a position to do that, then it's usually the manager who it falls back on."
How will West Ham's transfer window impact their success?
Following their relegation from the Premier League, West Ham were expecting to lose a number of key players in what looked set to be a busy transfer window.
The likes of Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville and El Hajdi Malick Diouf all moved on for big fees, while they were able to spend big money on players including Arne Engels.
Brown told Football Insider on 1 September that West Ham were accelerating plans to sign a left-back with Ryan Giles on their radar, before they landed Adama Boiro on loan.
However, their are still doubts about a lack of quality strength in depth, which is often the key to winning promotion from what could be a long season in the Championship.
The new signings will have to gel quickly, with games coming thick and fast, while Nuno is facing pressure to get the best out of his new-look squad.