West Ham United have sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after their disappointing start to the Championship season.
The 52-year-old has been in charge since September 2025 and oversaw the Hammers’ relegation from the Premier League last season.
Widely seen as favourites for automatic promotion, the London side are currently eighth in the table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough.
They have won two of their last six games and have lost back-to-back home matches – going down 3-2 to Southampton and then 3-1 to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday – losses that have seen them drop down from second place.
Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also left the club.
Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of the side for their Championship trip to Cardiff City on Wednesday night.
“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,” a West Ham United statement read.
“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 under way.”
The decision means West Ham are looking for their fourth permanent manager since David Moyes left the London Stadium in May 2024.
His successor Julen Lopetegui was sacked after just six months in charge with the Hammers mid-table having won six of their 20 Premier League matches.
He was replaced by former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter, who oversaw a 14th-placed finish, but was sacked after only eight months in charge with the club 19th in the table.
The club opted to stick with former Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur boss Espirito Santo despite him being unable to turn around the club’s fortunes. They were relegated at the end of last season after finishing two points behind Spurs.
This season had a troubled start for the Hammers – they failed to win any of their first three league matches and were 19th in the table.
But a run of four successive wins in the first half of September, where they scored 16 goals and went top of the table, appeared to show they had adapted to the second tier, with a 6-0 win over Wrexham the highlight of the run.
But just two league victories have come since – a 6-0 win at nine-man Lincoln City and a 1-0 victory at Swansea City came after draws with London rivals Millwall and QPR.
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