LONDON -- West Ham coach Nuno Espírito Santo said that the club must understand the "frustration and anger" of the supporters after their relegation was confirmed, while adding that it was "not the time" to discuss his future.
West Ham were 3-0 winners against Leeds on Sunday but with Tottenham Hotspur winning 1-0 at home to Everton, they were condemned to their first season in the Championship since the 2010-11 campaign.
During their final day fixture there were several moments of anti-ownership sentiment with fans chanting for the leadership group headed by David Sullivan to leave the club.
There have also been several protests against the club's board throughout the season with relegation set to intensify the pressure on change at the top of the club.
"[It is a] moment of deep sadness for all of us at the club. It was a tough day. We had a tough mission. We lost the privilege of deciding our own future," Nuno told reporters at the London Stadium.
"What we have to understand is that as a club we are in a tough place and West Ham has to go back in the Premier League.
"But now we have to go through this period of sadness, understanding the frustration and anger of the fans and rightly, we have to thank them more than anything."
When pressured on what his future at West Ham looks like, Nuno refused to give a definitive answer, saying that it was not "the day" to discuss it, but did stress that the fans would eventually know.
He signed a three-year deal when he joined the club in September last year.
"So anything that regards the future is, first of all, we all have to go to this bad moment," he said. "We just didn't do it [talk about his future] because it was not the moment to do it.
"We start thinking about that [the future] tomorrow and another day.
"Yeah, they [West Ham supporters] will know. They will know, of course, they will know. But please understand the respect that I have for all of us, is not today. It's not today. They will know. Of course they will know."
Leeds boss Daniel Farke saw his side end an excellent season with a sobering defeat at the London Stadium but was quick to wish West Ham a speedy return to the Premier League.
"First of all, I have to say commiserations obviously to West Ham, [it's] always a sad day when a club that was so many years in the top [flight] that goes down," he said. "And you could feel it in the stadium. It was a bit [of a ] strange atmosphere obviously today."
He also said the Premier League is better with Leeds in it after they secured an impressive 14th placed league finish on Sunday.
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"Once you have a club with the history of Leeds United more or less than you have such a big club with such a huge fan base and the top flight, I think it's beneficial for English football," he added.
"So for that fingers crossed that West Ham can also come back soon on this level. But I think the Premier League is definitely a better sport with Leeds and [I] hope that West Ham will also have better times."