The key facts

  • West Ham sacked Nuno Espirito Santo with immediate effect
  • Assistant Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa also left the club
  • After 13 rounds the team is eighth in the Championship, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough

The club announced the dismissal

West Ham sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo on Tuesday, November 3, after a poor start to the Championship season, AFP reports. The club's statement said the Portuguese coach had left his post

Why the club took this step

The 52-year-old Nuno took charge of West Ham in September last year but failed to keep the team in the Premier League — at the end of last season the Londoners were relegated, yet the coach, who had previously worked with Wolves, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, remained at the club. Ahead of the new season, many considered the Hammers the favourite in the fight for automatic promotion back to the top flight, but after 13 rounds the team sits only eighth in the second division, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough. The immediate trigger for the dismissal, judging by the course of the season, appears to have been two consecutive league defeats — to Southampton and West Bromwich — following a decent stretch that came after an uneven start.