West Ham United have sacked Nuno Espirito Santo less than three weeks after his side’s 6-0 victory against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.
The Hammers have acted following successive home defeats, leaving one of the Championship’s promotion favourites searching for a new head coach. Nuno was in the visiting dugout on October 14 when the Imps endured a miserable evening, with Tom Hamer and Conor McGrandles both dismissed inside the opening 23 minutes. We held out until just before half-time, but West Ham eventually made their numerical advantage count to inflict our heaviest defeat of the campaign.
The Hammers followed that result with a win at Swansea City, extending their unbeaten league run to nine matches. However, a 3-2 home defeat against Southampton was followed by Saturday’s 3-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion, and the board have now decided to make a change.
West Ham sit eighth after 13 matches, having won six, drawn four and lost three. They are six points behind leaders Middlesbrough and four adrift of second-placed Swansea, with their hopes of an immediate Premier League return now entrusted to a new appointment.
Confirming the decision this morning, the club explained that their assessment of the opening months had prompted Nuno’s departure.
“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 thanked all three for their work and confirmed that the search for a replacement is already underway.
Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of preparations for tomorrow evening’s trip to Cardiff City. The club say they will make no further comment until their new head coach has been confirmed.
Nuno, 52, took over from Graham Potter in September 2025, signing a three-year contract with West Ham sitting 19th in the Premier League. He was unable to prevent relegation, which was confirmed on the final day, but retained the board’s backing to oversee their Championship campaign.
The Portuguese had previously led Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Championship title in 2017/18, while his time at Nottingham Forest brought a seventh-place Premier League finish and European qualification in 2024/25. That record offered West Ham an experienced appointment, but his stay has ended little more than a year after it began.
From our perspective, it is a striking turnaround for a manager whose side left Sincil Bank celebrating such an emphatic victory last month. Two successive defeats have proved enough for West Ham to decide their promotion ambitions require a different voice.
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