West Ham sack Nuno Espirito Santo as search begins for new manager

West Ham have sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, with the club eighth in the Championship after their 3-1 home defeat to West Brom.

Pressure had been building on Nuno after back-to-back home defeats to Southampton and West Brom, but he was expecting to be in charge for Wednesday’s trip to Cardiff.

Instead, the club have decided to relieve Nuno of his duties with immediate effect, believing a change is necessary to ensure West Ham’s promotion bid gets back on track.

Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also departed, while the process of recruiting a new head coach is already underway.

Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of the squad ahead of tomorrow evening’s clash with Cardiff.

After failing to avoid relegation from the Premier League last season, Nuno’s job came under serious scrutiny, but he was backed to continue in the role by Daniel Kretinsky, who became the club’s majority owner in September.

Despite being among the favourites for promotion at the start of this season, though, results have been mixed, with the east Londoners winning six of their opening 13 league games.

West Ham currently sit just inside the play-off places but are four points from the automatic promotion spots.

In a statement, West Ham announced Nuno’s departure and thanked him for his time at the helm, having replaced Graham Potter as head coach in September 2025.

“West Ham United can confirm that men’s first-team Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo has left his position with immediate effect,” the statement read

“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.

“Assistant Head Coach Rui Pedro Silva and Goalkeeper Coach Rui Barbosa have also departed.

“West Ham United would like to thank Nuno, Rui and Rui for their hard work and commitment during their time at the Club, and wish them all the very best for the future.

“The process of recruiting a new Head Coach is already underway.

“Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of tomorrow evening’s EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City, and the Club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new Head Coach is confirmed.”