West Ham dismisses Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach

West Ham United sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after a disappointing start to the Championship season. The 52-year-old had been in charge since September 2025 and had led the Hammers' relegation from the Premier League last season. Considered favorites for automatic promotion, the London club found themselves eighth in the table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough. In their last six games, West Ham managed to win only two and suffered back-to-back home losses, going down 3-2 to Southampton and 3-1 to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, which dropped them from second place.

Also leaving the club were assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa. Mark Noble, Steve Potts, and Gerard Prenderville are set to take temporary charge of the team for their Championship trip to Cardiff City on Wednesday night.

In a statement, West Ham United said, "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 club expressed their gratitude to Nuno, Rui, and Rui for their hard work and commitment during their time at West Ham, wishing them the best for the future. The process of recruiting a new head coach is already underway.

Nuno had taken over after the dismissal of Graham Potter, marking a continuing search for stability at the club. This dismissal marks West Ham's fourth managerial change since David Moyes left in May 2024. His successor Julen Lopetegui was dismissed after six months in charge, followed by Potter, who also seldom delivered success. Under Nuno, the start of the current season was troubled, with West Ham not winning any of their initial three league matches and briefly sitting in 19th place. However, a winning streak in early September, including a 6-0 victory against Wrexham, gave hope. Unfortunately, only two wins have followed since then: a 6-0 win over nine-man Lincoln City and a narrow 1-0 win against Swansea City after draws with Millwall and QPR.