7 hours ago
4
West Ham star El Hadji Malick Diouf has revealed the special tactic manager Nuno Espirito Santo utilised in a bid to secure his team's much-needed win against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
After a limp start to season, the Hammers have already waved goodbye to former head coach Graham Potter in a bid to reverse their uninspiring form.
The team sit 18th in the Premier League standings and will need to turn around their performances fast to avoid a relegation fight in the second-half of the season.
But Sunday's runout against the Magpies provided a promising first step, with the hosts the 3-1 victors at the London Stadium.
As he and his team-mates revelled in the vital win, Diouf shed light on a motivational technique that might have proved the difference.
Nuno put up pictures of his players as children in the dressing room in an attempt to perhaps remind them of their childhood dream of playing football at the highest level, with Diouf sharing a picture of the tableau on Instagram.
El Hadji Malick Diouf shared the emotional touch that Nuno Espirito Santo used as motivation
The West Ham star helped his side to secure all three points at home against Newcastle
Fans were quick to praise the decision in light of the win, with many suggesting that the 'lovely touch' had been an inspirational one.
'Well done lads +3', Diouf captioned the image.
Sunday's success marked Nuno's first win as West Ham manager since being drafted earlier this season to replace Potter.
The Portuguese manager was himself replaced at Nottingham Forest in September, with Evangelos Marinakis opting for a brief 39-day stint with Ange Postecoglou in the dugout, before he was sacked and exchanged for Sean Dyche.
Diouf was one of West Ham's summer recruits, with the left back arriving from Slavia Prague during the transfer window.
The Senegalese star has enjoyed a spirited run at his new side, registering three assists in his first 10 games in club colours.
The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes on Sunday, when West Ham enjoyed a comeback after Newcastle opened the scoring in the fourth minute.
Up 2-1 thanks to goals from Lucas Paqueta and a self-inflicted own goal from Sven Botman, the hosts confirmed that they would keep hold of all three points when Tomas Soucek netted deep in injury time.
The Hammers currently sit in the relegation places of the Premier League standings
But Nuno shared that he had been impressed with the nature of Sunday afternoon's victory
'I think to win the way we did it, I think for us it's to realise how important it is that we have to be organised, how important it is to work off the ball and how important it is to be compact, to be together, to not allow teams to play freely,' Nuno said after the final whistle.
'Because after we have the ball we can consider and go forward, but as long as we are basically compact and solid in the way we want to approach the competition, in the Premier League especially, we cannot afford to not work harder, to sacrifice ourselves.
'So that was the message and that's the way the boys (need to play).'
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was in turn furious about his side's 'unrecognisable' performance on the road.
‘It didn't look like a Newcastle team that we've seen in recent seasons,' Howe said. 'The body language, the collective spirit on the pitch, loads of little things weren’t there.
'It was a by-product of us just not being where we needed to be mentally.
‘I could have taken anyone off,’ he added. ‘That is a reflection of where we were at that stage of the game.
'It is very rare for me to feel that way. I don't think I have since I have been Newcastle manager.’
