Karren Brady has left West Ham fans stunned with her verdict on Nuno Espirito Santo’s sacking, insisting the club’s problems were bigger than one manager.

That may be true, but after years in a position of power at the London Stadium, Karren Brady’s latest comments raise an uncomfortable question: does she even recognise her own major role in the mess?

Because Brady has delivered a verdict on Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham sacking that has left many supporters questioning whether the former vice-chair ever intends to accept responsibility for the club’s failures.

Yet another decision by West Ham’s former regime – the day-to-day running of which was led by Brady for 16-and-a-half years – has fallen flat on its face, with Nuno dismissed this week after just two wins from the Hammers’ opening 13 Championship games.

Brady fails to take accountability once again with Nuno verdict

Many supporters had questioned his suitability after only a handful of matches. Having overseen relegation, Nuno failed to turn things around and has now been replaced by promotion specialist Scott Parker.

Brady, meanwhile, has kept a relatively low profile since suddenly resigning from the West Ham board in April. That came just weeks after she had declared that everyone at the club, from the terraces to the boardroom, needed to pull together to secure Premier League survival.

West Ham went down anyway.

And Brady has now resurfaced with comments that will do little to convince supporters that she has learned anything from the club’s disastrous decline.

Writing in The Sun, she said it would be unfair to put all of West Ham’s failure at Nuno’s door.

She then lists the problems at West Ham – all of which happened on her watch, a fact she seems completely oblivious to judging by her comments.

“I don’t think it is fair to put all of that ­failure at his door. West Ham’s problems were bigger than one manager,” Brady wrote.

It was Brady’s job to ‘change the shape of West Ham’s house’

“There were issues with recruitment, squad balance, confidence and consistency.

“A manager can organise the ­furniture but cannot always change the shape of the house.”

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Scott Parker takes charge of his second game after a thrilling 3-3 last time out! How do you see this one going? 👀

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

It was only last week that Brady was criticised for blaming former technical director Tim Steidten for West Ham’s problems in recent years.

Supporters were quick to point out that Brady was Steidten’s boss and had been in a position to challenge his decisions, oversee recruitment and demand improvements.

Fans had spent years calling for West Ham to adopt a more professional, Brighton-style recruitment structure. Yet Brady was happy to invoke Brighton when discussing the club’s failings, despite supporters having repeatedly called for that sort of approach.

Now, having pointed the finger at Steidten, she is arguing that Nuno should not be held responsible for problems that go much deeper than the manager.

She is not wrong about that. Recruitment, squad construction and confidence have all contributed to West Ham’s decline.

But that is precisely why her comments are so frustrating for supporters. Who was overseeing the club while those problems were allowed to develop?

Brady was part of the leadership team during years of decline, record financial losses and ultimately relegation. She was also in the boardroom when decisions were made that left West Ham in this position.

Her resignation in April did not erase that record.

There is a glaring lack of self-awareness in identifying all the problems at West Ham without acknowledging the responsibility of those who were running the club when they took hold.

Nuno deserved scrutiny for his results and performances. But Brady’s argument that one manager cannot carry all the blame applies just as readily to the people above him.

West Ham supporters have heard enough explanations. What they have rarely heard is meaningful accountability from the people who presided over the decline.

Brady has now provided another explanation for what went wrong. Whether she recognises the role she played in it is another matter entirely.