The Hammers are now just two points above the relegation zone and could drop into the bottom three depending on results elsewhere, with Nuno conceding the battle to stay up is set to go "down to the wire".

"I stand here honest and trying to speak about what I saw," he said. "It gives us hope at half-time, but after the penalty it becomes an old situation with the rush.

"It's up to us how we will react from the situation and the noise. Let's stick together. We have three games to go. It will go down to the wire, the last game."

West Ham's afternoon unravelled early in the second half when El Hadji Malick Diouf brought down Dango Ouattara inside the area, allowing Igor Thiago to double Brentford's lead from the spot after a first-half own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Mikkel Damsgaard later added a third to seal victory for the hosts, who strengthened their push for European qualification.

While Nuno acknowledged Diouf's challenge was avoidable, he was more frustrated by his side's inability to respond once they fell further behind.

"He should have avoided it, but Ouattara is a very good winger, so it's hard to defend against him," he said. "The second goal hurt us.

"But it's not about that, it's how we were not able to react. Recently we've been able to react from setbacks. Today was not so. We lost composure, we lost organisation, we were rushing."
The defeat was particularly painful given West Ham's bright start. They created several chances before the break, with Taty Castellanos striking the post twice and Crysencio Summerville hitting the crossbar, while a Mavropanos effort was ruled out for a marginal offside.

"We are disappointed, of course," Nuno added. "The first half was really good, really positive. We were in control, created a lot of situations, hit the posts.

"At half-time we felt the game was going to change and things would come to us. But overall, it's a tough day for us."

Brentford, who had been winless in six matches prior to kick-off, once again proved a difficult opponent for West Ham, continuing a dominant record in recent meetings between the sides.

The result lifts them into sixth place, keeping alive hopes of a historic European finish.

"We're in a good place," said Brentford boss Keith Andrews. "Sixth with three games to go is not a bad position to be in. We should enjoy that and keep pushing."

For West Ham, however, the focus is firmly on survival — and on rediscovering the response Nuno believes is essential in the closing weeks of the season.

"Among many things we have to rectify, the reaction to setbacks is key," he said. "We cannot give up. We've proven that's not allowed."

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