Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked as the manager of West Ham United, 14 months after he suffered the same fate at Nottingham Forest.

Espirito Santo had a solid rapport with the Forest fan base, and ultimately it was a sad day when he departed the football club – especially given that Ange Postecoglou was the man tasked with replacing him.

Espirito Santo must regret sliding doors moment

The former Forest head coach had it made at the City Ground. He has proved his Premier League credentials all over again, qualified for Europe with another team and was worshipped by the fan base.

It all turned on the back of Espirito Santo’s first conversation with Edu. The sporting director and the Forest head coach never hit it off and argued the toss over some of the club’s incoming signings last season.

Espirito Santo and Edu fell out over Adama Traore. The former head coach wanted the winger, but with Fulham asking for £10 million, the sporting director suggested there was better value elsewhere in the market.

Espirito Santo moved to West Ham shortly after leaving Forest, seemingly to prove a point. Instead, he took them down to the Championship and has started relatively poorly, considering he’s kept a lot of last season’s stars.

If Espirito Santo could turn the clock back, he might wish to have that first meeting with Edu all over again. Neither the loved head coach nor Forest benefited from his departure, and as a result, he might now be regretting that particular sliding doors moment.