EPL: West Ham fires Nuno Espírito Santo as head coach

West Ham United have sacked their head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, with immediate effect following a review of the club’s performance at the start of the EFL Championship season.

The club announced the decision in a statement published on its official website on Tuesday, explaining that the board considered a managerial change necessary to keep the team on course to achieve its objectives and meet expectations.

“Following a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season, the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary at this time in order to ensure that the Club’s objectives and expectations remain on track,” the statement said.

The club added that Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa have also left the club.

West Ham thanked the three coaches for their “hard work and commitment” during their time at the club and wished them well in their future endeavours.

The club said the process of recruiting a new head coach had begun.

It stated that in the meantime, Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of Tuesday evening’s Championship fixture against Cardiff City.

West Ham added that it would make no further comment until the appointment of a new head coach is confirmed.

The Portuguese was appointed West Ham head coach on September 27, 2025, signing a three-year contract after leaving Nottingham Forest.

He had previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Valencia, Porto and Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.

Nuno made his mark in English football at Wolves, guiding the club to the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League in 2018.

He subsequently led them to consecutive seventh-place finishes in the top flight and the Europa League quarter-finals in the 2019/20 season.

His most recent success before joining West Ham came at Nottingham Forest, whom he guided to seventh place in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in the 2024/25 campaign. He also won the Saudi Pro League title with Al-Ittihad in 2022.

West Ham’s expectations were high when they appointed the experienced coach, with the club seeking to improve its performances and compete at the top level.

Following their relegation from the Premier League, the immediate priority was to secure a return to the top flight, with automatic promotion the preferred route.

Nuno had previously said his objective was to get the best out of the team and make West Ham as competitive as possible.

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