Nuno Espírito Santo is no longer West Ham’s head coach. The club confirmed on Tuesday morning that he has left with immediate effect, along with assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa. Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations for Wednesday’s trip to Cardiff City.
West Ham’s statement said the board had carried out a “thorough review” of the start to the Championship season and decided a change was necessary. The numbers explain the timing: the Hammers, billed as favourites for automatic promotion, are eighth and six points behind leaders Middlesbrough, having lost back-to-back home games to Southampton and West Brom. Nuno was appointed in September 2025 on a three-year deal and oversaw the relegation that left West Ham in this position.
The results are only part of the story. Sources tell The Hammer Times that the decision was built on months of frustration inside the building, and that a dispute over two players was where it began to unravel.
As The Hammer Times reported last week, captain Jarrod Bowen had been making the case for Edson Álvarez and Soungoutou Magassa, two talented defensive midfielders who had been frozen out and left in the doghouse, to be brought back into the squad. Bowen approached Nuno several times, according to sources, and each time Nuno and his coaching staff said they would reevaluate the options and consider it.
Nothing changed. Álvarez and Magassa were still kept out of training and left out of matchday squads, and the longer it went on, the more it spread. Sources say the situation had a trickle effect in the dressing room, as players saw two of their teammates sidelined while the team kept conceding early goals and struggling to control matches.
“Not Operating in the best interests of West Ham”
Noble and director of recruitment Nils Koppen began looking at how the situation was affecting the club. After meeting with Potts, they concluded that Nuno and his staff were “not operating in the best interests of West Ham,” a source explained. Nuno was fixated on making his system work, and the way he built his starting eleven and his bench simply had no place for Álvarez or Magassa. The conclusion drawn by Potts and Noble, according to sources, was that Nuno was not willing to compromise to put the club in a better position. That, more than any single result, shaped their view. The pressure of promotion, the slow starts that have defined the season, and a manager who appeared to be running out of solutions all added to it.
Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium was where it came to a head. Noble, Koppen and interim CEO Karim Virani all felt that against West Brom everything they had been hearing became magnified. West Ham went behind early, again, and had no answer after the break. Nuno made no meaningful adjustments; the Hammers had the ball without a way through, and they were picked apart by the counter-attack.
Nuno’s own post-match comments gave little reason for confidence. Asked what he needed from his players, he said the only solution was results. Three days later he was out of a job.
The players had their say too. Further conversations with squad members, sources say, left club figures with a clear picture. The players admitted there had been no real instructions, and many felt like square pegs being forced into round holes, a view that matched what supporters watched from the stands. There was also a growing indifference toward the manager. When the club executives asked questions, none of the players came to Nuno’s defence, and that silence ultimately led to the decision.
Sources say co-owner David Sullivan had been calling for Nuno’s dismissal for more than two months, and that his voice has been heard in the executive room. His camp had been pushing the idea for some time, which fits with the leak around Rob Edwards last week. The decision was made by Virani, Koppen and Noble after the West Brom defeat, but Sullivan’s view of Nuno was never a secret to anyone at board level.
What Happens Next?
Virani, Koppen and Noble spoke to 3 potential candidates after the loss to West Brom, with Noble and Potts handling interim coaching duties in the meantime. West Ham are finalizing a deal with former Hammer, Scott Parker. Claims that candidates such as Rob Edwards had already been approached were wrong, sources say.
The plan is to appoint Parker in time for this weekend’s clash with Blackburn. Scott Parker was on a short list, but it is unclear whether he will come in as a caretaker manager. Parker played for West Ham from 2007 until 2011. Potts, Noble and Prenderville will serve on his staff.
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