It was the scene that summed up West Ham United’s multitude of problems — and it came just after the final whistle of the damaging 1-0 home defeat against Fulham.

Academy graduate Ollie Scarles was in pieces at full time on Saturday, tears pouring down his face and inconsolable after his error led to Raul Jimenez’s match-winning goal with five minutes of the 90 remaining.

West Ham remain in the relegation zone, and are now winless in seven Premier League outings, having lost three in a row.

As 20-year-old Scarles lay on the turf, head in hands, after his air-shot at a clearance, there was a lengthy period before the left-back was consoled by team-mate Tomas Soucek. Jean-Clair Todibo then checked on Scarles’ well-being and offered reassurances.

Post-match, midfielder Guido Rodriguez and academy prospect Airidas Golambeckis, unused substitutes on the day, tried to lift the England Under-20 international’s spirits. But Scarles broke down again when he held his hands up in apology, having walked to all four corners of the London Stadium to seek forgiveness.

It was admirable that he was accompanied by West Ham’s right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, but club captain Jarrod Bowen and other senior players did not display the same level of empathy.

In truth, the ordeal was a sad reflection of the scarcity of togetherness and leadership in coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.

Ollie Scarles is in tears as he apologises to the #WHUFC fans. Tough moment for the young defender being at fault for Fulham’s winner. Scarles will bounce back but pretty poor that not all of his team-mates checked on him. Kyle Walker-Peters stayed with Scarles until the end. pic.twitter.com/dDpgOVDOV8

— Roshane Thomas (@RoshaneSport) December 27, 2025

“We are all disappointed and sad, but we stick together,” Nuno insisted in his post-match press conference. “It is not about individuals now. Ollie has our total confidence, support and mistakes are part of the game. Let’s not focus the entire game on Ollie. This is not my focus, and it’s not how we approach things. It’s how we, as a group, stick together and try to reverse the situation.

“Today and tonight are going to be tough, but tomorrow is another day, and in two days (against Brighton, also at home) we are playing again.”

Scarles, who is deputising while El Hadji Malick Diouf is away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal for the next few weeks, will hope to bounce back in similar fashion to the way fellow West Ham academy graduate Declan Rice once did.

During a match against Arsenal in April 2018, a then-18-year-old Rice ducked out of the way of the ball, which led to West Ham conceding in an eventual 4-1 defeat. It proved to be a turning point in Rice’s career, having been surrounded in that West Ham squad by leaders such as Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid, James Collins and Mark Noble, now the club’s sporting director. Scarles does not have the same luxury with the current group.

The lack of leaders was a problem West Ham’s previous head coach Graham Potter encountered, and it remains an issue for replacement Nuno. The Athletic reported how Potter was concerned about how quiet the dressing room was, and Nuno has been unable to change that.

Other concerns include haphazard leadership from the club’s hierarchy, namely the scattergun approach to hiring and firing managers that many supporters believe has accelerated West Ham’s decline in recent seasons. This calendar year alone, the east Londoners have had three head coaches in Julen Lopetegui, Potter and Nuno, and there were more fan protests on Saturday against chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.

West Ham fans protest against David Sullivan and Karren Brady at the Fulham game (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Their recruitment has hardly helped.

The repercussions of the club’s summer 2024 business are still being felt: defenders Maximilian Kilman and Todibo continue to struggle and young forward Luis Guilherme has barely been seen, making only two Premier League starts. Striker Niclas Fullkrug, set to join Milan on loan, at least, in the imminent winter window, will not be remembered well, having scored just three goals. The Germany international’s wages will need to be reinvested in his position, as Nuno will otherwise have only Callum Wilson, 34 in February, at his disposal as a true striker for the second half of the season.

More recently, the manager has had to deal with the ill-discipline of Lucas Paqueta, getting himself sent off in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool, and Crysencio Summerville, who walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution on Saturday.

Crysencio Summerville heads off against Fulham — and heads for the tunnel (Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The winger was replaced by Wilson in the 56th minute and was not acknowledged by Nuno as he left the pitch. Substitute Soucek went to check on Summerville, then returned to the bench, but his Dutch team-mate did not immediately join him and other West Ham personnel there.

Pre-match was a reminder of happier times, with visits from fan favourites Pablo Fornals, now of Real Betis, and Vladimir Coufal, now at Hoffenheim. The pair, who were both part of the squad that won the 2022-23 Europa Conference League, were back at the London Stadium for the first time since leaving West Ham in February 2024 and June this year respectively.

The duo were key members of the ‘Band of brothers’ group under previous manager David Moyes, where the camaraderie was never in doubt. Fornals and Coufal would walk into West Ham’s starting XI now. Their commitment, work rate and dedication are attributes that Nuno urgently needs in his team before a transfer window where the club will surely have to be busy.

West Ham are entering a crucial run of fixtures in their relegation fight. Brighton are next up at home tomorrow (Tuesday), before a trip to last-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday and fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest next Tuesday.

Since Nuno succeeded Potter, West Ham have only won twice (against Newcastle and Burnley back-to-back in early November) in 13 league fixtures, while fellow relegation contenders Leeds United (16th) and Forest (17th) have markedly improved under Daniel Farke and October appointment Sean Dyche.

Nuno’s face says it all after a seventh game without a win (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“There are many reasons why we are struggling,” Nuno added. “We could spend hours and hours talking about all the aspects, but basically, when you don’t score, (then in) the situation that we are in, everything bad happens to us. It’s a reflection that we are making, but being positive that we are going to try and turn things around.”

The possibility of relegation to the Championship for the first time since the 2010-11 season continues to grow.

West Ham have reached crisis point. Again.