I’ve always said that a good manager gives his opposite number something to think about before kick-off.

Ordinarily, I’d mean a clever tactical tweak — something subtle to give the rival head coach a bit of a puzzle. But what Nuno Espírito Santo served up against Brentford was anything but subtle. It was nuclear.

For some baffling reason, Ollie Scarles was deployed at right-back while Aaron Wan-Bissaka sat on the bench, and the other right-back — Kyle Walker-Peters — played at left-back.

Scarles played out of position against Brentford

Tomas Souček was used as a defensive midfielder rather than pushing forward into attacking positions, whilst Andy Irving was a surprise inclusion in midfield. Mateus Fernandes spent too much time on the left flank, Lucas Paquetá was played as a striker, and Crysencio Summerville was shoehorned into a strange No.10/second striker role.

The whole charade was baffling, and many assumed that Nuno’s botched experiment would be scrapped for West Ham’s next match. However, after hearing him speak on Sky Sports earlier today, I have to admit — I’m worried.

Nuno may not have learnt his lesson

When asked about his tactical changes against Brentford, Espírito Santo didn’t...