West Ham sack Nuno Espírito Santo: head coach leaves with immediate effect after back-to-back home defeats, Mark Noble in temporary charge
West Ham United have sacked head coach Nuno Espírito Santo. In a statement on Tuesday 3 November 2026 the club said the men's first-team head coach 'has left his position with immediate effect' after 'a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season', with the board believing '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, the process of recruiting a new head coach is under way, and Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of Wednesday evening's EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City; the club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new head coach is confirmed. West Ham sit eighth in the Championship after 13 games, after back-to-back home defeats — 3–2 by Southampton and 3–1 by West Brom on Saturday. Reports linking former Hammers midfielder Scott Parker with the job are widespread but are not a club announcement, and are carried on this page as Not yet verified.
Key points
- Gone: Nuno Espírito Santo has left West Ham with immediate effect — the club's own statement, Tuesday 3 November 2026, after 'a thorough review' of the start to the Championship season.
- Also departed: assistant Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa. In temporary charge for Wednesday's trip to Cardiff City: Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville.
- The form behind it: eighth after 13 games, back-to-back home defeats (Southampton 3–2, West Brom 3–1), two wins in seven — for a side kept together to win instant promotion after last season's relegation.
- No successor has been announced: reports link Scott Parker, but the club says it will make no further comment until the appointment is confirmed — the Parker reports are labelled Not yet verified on this page.
What happened
Nuno arrived in September 2025, replacing Graham Potter on a three-year contract, and could not keep West Ham in the Premier League: they finished 18th and were relegated on the final day of last season, ending a 13-year stay in the top flight. The club kept him in May, kept captain Jarrod Bowen and backed the promotion bid — and in early September a 6–0 win over Wrexham suggested it was working.
It tailed off from there: two wins in seven, then successive home defeats, 3–2 by Southampton and 3–1 by West Brom on Saturday, when many in the London Stadium crowd headed for the exits before full-time (The Independent). Tuesday's statement ends his tenure at just over 13 months, on the eve of a trip to Cardiff City, with West Ham eighth — inside the promotion race, but not where a side built for an instant return expected to be.
Claim by claim
Why this label: West Ham United's own statement, quoted verbatim by The Independent (read in full in this run), Reuters and The Times, in agreement on every word carried here. The decision itself is the club's, carried as the club's own announcement.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Also from the club's own statement, quoted verbatim by The Independent (read in full) and carried identically by Reuters. The temporary-charge trio and the no-further-comment line are the club's words, not reporting.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The appointment date, the three-year contract, the 18th-place relegation, the May decision to keep him, the position (eighth after 13 games), both defeat scores, the third home defeat in seven and the two-wins-in-seven run are all in The Independent's report, read in full in this run; Reuters agrees on the September 2025 arrival, the relegation, eighth place and the back-to-back home defeats by Southampton and West Brom. Outlets disagree on the points gaps around eighth (The Independent's play-off and automatic-promotion gaps vs other reports' gap to the leaders), so no points gap is published on this page.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: Labelled Not yet verified: every Parker element rests on reporting and 'understands' sourcing, not on any club announcement — and the club's own statement says it will make no further comment until the appointment of the new head coach is confirmed. If and when the club announces a successor, this page will say so. Parker's candidacy itself (a former West Ham midfielder, out of work since leaving Burnley) is reported by The Independent and The Times.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The departure itself, its immediate effect, the board's stated reason, the two staff departures, the temporary-charge trio for Wednesday's Cardiff City fixture, and that the search for a new head coach is under way — all from West Ham United's own statement, quoted verbatim by The Independent (read in full in this run) and Reuters.
- The season context: eighth after 13 games, back-to-back home defeats by Southampton (3–2) and West Brom (3–1), and Nuno's September 2025 arrival and last season's relegation (The Independent; Reuters).
What we don't know yet
- Who the permanent successor will be — reports link Scott Parker (The Independent: close to appointing; The Times: to replace; talkSPORT: agreement reached), but West Ham have announced nothing, and the club says it will make no further comment until the appointment is confirmed.
- The terms of Nuno's departure — a compensation figure of up to £3 million has been reported (The Times), but the club's statement gives no terms and no figure is published on this page as fact.
- Whether the Noble–Potts–Prenderville trio stays in charge beyond Wednesday's Cardiff City fixture.
Why it matters
West Ham are one of England's most widely followed clubs, and this is a promotion season being rescued in November: a manager kept on after relegation precisely to win an instant return has been removed 13 games in, with the side eighth and the January window ahead. Whoever the club appoints — and whether the appointment lands before the Cardiff trip — will shape one of the Championship's biggest stories of the season.
Background
Show the background timeline (5)
Nuno Espírito Santo replaces Graham Potter as West Ham head coach, on a three-year contract.
West Ham finish 18th and are relegated from the Premier League on the final day; the club opts to keep Nuno for the promotion bid.
A 6–0 win over Wrexham raises hopes of an instant return; two wins in the next seven games follow.
West Brom win 3–1 at the London Stadium — a second straight home defeat after Southampton's 3–2 win there.
West Ham confirm Nuno has left with immediate effect; Noble, Potts and Prenderville take temporary charge ahead of Wednesday's fixture at Cardiff City.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Story published as a brief. Basis: West Ham United's own statement of 3 November 2026, quoted verbatim by The Independent (read in full in this run) and Reuters. The Scott Parker successor reports are carried as Not yet verified — the club has announced no successor. No official video verified.