West Ham have sacked Nuno Espirito Santo with the club sitting eighth in the Championship, as Sky Sports report. Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to West Brom turned out to be his last game in charge.
It’s only 13 games into the season, and Nuno had won six of them. He stayed on after the Hammers went down from the Premier League in May, but back-to-back defeats at home, 3-2 to Southampton and then the West Brom loss, have done for him. West Ham are four points off the automatic promotion places.
Nuno knew where the problem was after Saturday’s game. “The solution is results, we have to go back to results,” he said. He pointed out that his side had shipped six goals at home in two games, and that they’d lost at home to Charlton as well as Southampton and West Brom.
The board weren’t prepared to wait and see if he could fix it. The club say a change was needed to keep their objectives on track, and the search for a new head coach has already started.
Scott Parker is close to getting the job, with talks at an advanced stage. He played 129 times for West Ham between 2007 and 2011 and has won promotion out of the Championship three times as a manager. Burnley sacked him in April once their relegation was confirmed.
Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will get the team ready for Wednesday’s trip to Cardiff, which kicks off at 7.45pm. Blackburn away follows on Saturday.
Footiebuzz View
Sacking a manager 13 games in looks harsh, and six wins from 13 is hardly a disaster. But losing at home to Charlton, Southampton and West Brom isn’t good enough for a club that’s meant to bounce straight back up, and Nuno said as much himself. Parker is the obvious replacement. He knows the club, and he’s got out of this division three times already.