Former Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was only appointed by West Ham United in September last year but the Portuguese head coach has already been moved on

Ex-Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked by West Ham.

The Portuguese coach was only appointed by the Hammers last year in an effort to stave off relegation. But he failed to do so, with West Ham slipping out of the Premier League for the first time since 2012.

They surprisingly stuck with the 52-year-old in the summer but West Ham have announced that he has now been moved on just 13 games into the new season.

A statement from West Ham on Tuesday morning read: “West Ham United can confirm that men’s first-team Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo has left his position with immediate effect.

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“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.

“Assistant Head Coach Rui Pedro Silva and Goalkeeper Coach Rui Barbosa have also departed.

“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 underway.

“Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of tomorrow evening’s EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City, and the Club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new Head Coach is confirmed.”

West Ham had endured a mixed start to the new season in their attempts to earn an instant promotion back to the Premier League.

They failed to win any of their three opening league games before going on a run of six wins in eight games to lift them to second in the table - a run that included 6-0 victories against Wrexham and Lincoln City. But back-to-back home defeats to Southampton and West Brom left them in eighth and has seen Nuno’s time at the London Stadium brought to an end.

Before his time with West Ham, Nuno had enjoyed a near-two-year spell with Forest in which he secured the club’s place in the Premier League before leading them to seventh and a spot in the Europa League.

He was eventually sacked in September 2025 to be replaced by Ange Postecoglou. Forest had another two managers take control throughout the remainder of that season, with Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira also appointed.