Nuno Espirito Santo on what impressed him most about West Ham's win at Burnley
Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased with the manner in which his West Ham side “managed” the game during their big win against Burnley.
While the Clarets now look consigned to relegation, the Hammers gave their survival hopes a big boost with a 2-0 win at Turf Moor.
The result cuts the gap to Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest to just three points, while Burnley remain 11 points adrift.
The damage was done during the first-half, where goals from Crysencio Summerville and Valentin Castellanos put the visitors in the ascendancy.
While Burnley put the Hammers under a bit of pressure during the second period, it was all too little, too late.
“The boys did really, really well,” Espirito Santo said afterwards.
"They were committed, desire, organised, talent up front, nice goals, nice combinations and a clean sheet that makes us proud of the way we defend. Because I believe that everything starts from there. If we can fix it, then up front, we have talent that can help us.
“[It’s because of] talent, talent [that we’re scoring so many early goals].
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“We knew how important it was to start the game well. From minute one, we were switched on, on the front foot, we press, we recover balls, we went. We didn't allow too many situations to Burnley. That makes a big difference, makes a big difference.
“We managed the game well. It was a spell during the second half in the beginning that Burnley put us against the ropes, but then came our fans singing and helping us. I'm really happy for them to make this travel so far away on a rainy day and help us.
"We are aware of the problems that we've been having. We have to solve it, we have to fix it.
“Individually, the players in defence were okay, but it's more about the line, the way we can connect with each other, covering spaces. We did well.
“Like I said, a clean sheet. Moving forward, it's important. We knew that today was going to be very, very tough, but everything starts from there, our organisation when we press. So congratulations to the boys because they did an amazing job.”
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