West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo refused to be drawn on his future following the club’s relegation to the Championship on the final day of the season.
The Hammers did their part by winning on the final afternoon, beating Leeds, but Tottenham beating Everton meant the north London club stayed up.
Nuno repeatedly brushed aside questions regarding whether he will remain in charge at the London Stadium next season, insisting that a day of deep mourning for the club was not the time for individual discussions.
“If you ask me now about the past and the future and all these things, it is not the day,” Nuno said at his post-match press conference.
“It is the day to understand the moment of sadness of our fans, of ourselves, and of the club.
“None of us had a minute to think about our individual futures. It was all about trying to stay positive, keep the belief going, and preparing the team. Anything that regards the future, first of all, we have to go through this bad moment.”
West Ham’s tally of 39 points would have guaranteed Premier League survival in the vast majority of previous campaigns, a fact the Portuguese coach lamented as he reflected on a strange season at the bottom.
“Many things factored into it,” he added.
“Normally 39 points in the last 10 years or so keeps teams safe. We got the points, we improved, but it was not enough. It is our responsibility.
“We were aware of the difficult situation since we joined. The players, more than anyone, were aware of how hard it was, but it was not enough.”
When pressed further on when a decision would be reached and whether he wants to spearhead the club’s promotion charge next year, Nuno grew frustrated with the line of questioning.
He said: “You keep insisting to me about that and my mind is not there. It’s not there today. Tomorrow, if you have a press conference, for sure we can speak about that, but today it is not about this.
“It is not about me. What we have to understand is us as a club. We are in a tough place and West Ham has to go back to the Premier League, but now we have to go through this period of sadness and understand the frustration and anger of the fans, rightly so.
“We have time to make decisions. It is not today to make any kind of rushed decisions. We just have to go through this bad moment.”