Nuno Espirito Santo believes his West Ham side hesitated during their defeat to Southampton on Saturday.

The Hammers missed the opportunity to go top of the Championship after losing 3-2 at home to the Saints.

Kuryu Matsuki and James Bree struck inside the opening 11 minutes to give Southampton a 2-0 lead, and though Kyle Walker-Peters pulled a goal back soon after, Lewis Dobbin scored a third for the Saints before half-time.

Tomas Soucek scored a late consolation for West Ham in second-half stoppage time, but it was not enough to inspire a dramatic comeback, with the Hammers now third in the table.

"We're disappointed. We started not the way we wanted and we conceded," said Nuno.

"We were looking at the situations with hesitation, bouncing balls, too many chances for Southampton to have a second phase, third phase and achieve a goal.

"We were not good in that moment, but the reaction was good. After you start playing, you start combining, you create enormous situations.

"We tried, again, many, many situations that we could have done better. The boys fought till the end. The atmosphere was good.

"The fans helped us. All of us were having the feeling that we were able to react and revert the game, but it was not to be. It was disappointing."

14:50 – Richard Kone’s hat-trick against Swansea City is the earliest scored in an EFL match (15th minute) since the rebrand in 2004-05. Brisk. https://t.co/9JUQ85I6EQ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 24, 2026

While Southampton moved within three points of West Ham, second-place Swansea City were thrashed by QPR.

Richard Kone scored a hat-trick after just 15 minutes, while Jummy Dunne also scored a brace as QPR pulled off a stunning 5-0 win.

Kone’s hat-trick is the earliest scored in an EFL match (15th minute) since the rebrand in 2004-05.

Those results mean Middlesbrough are top of the league, following their 5-1 rout of Bolton Wanderers on Friday.