Claret & Hugh can reveal this morning that West Ham United dismissed Nuno Espírito Santo earlier than originally planned following a meeting between the head coach and club executives on Monday morning.
West Ham had become increasingly concerned about results and performances, and Nuno’s position was already under considerable scrutiny. The club had sounded out various potential replacements, including Scott Parker, but the intention had been to assess the situation over the next two Championship fixtures against Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers.
However, that timetable changed following Monday’s meeting, during which Nuno would ordinarily have been expected to review the previous match and discuss plans for the January transfer window. Instead, the decision was taken to dismiss him with immediate effect, bringing his time at West Ham to an abrupt end.
Monday Meeting Changed West Ham’s Plans
As Claret & Hugh reported before Nuno’s dismissal, there had been growing concern within the club’s hierarchy about the direction of the team. However, the expectation had been that the Portuguese coach would have the Cardiff and Blackburn matches to demonstrate that he could turn things around.
That changed on Monday lunchtime. Quite what happened during the meeting has not been disclosed, but it would be fair to say that the outcome was not what Nuno would have been hoping for. Perhaps, and this is purely speculation on my part, he failed to provide the answers or assurances West Ham’s executives were seeking.
Whatever the precise circumstances, the decision meant Nuno would not be taking training on Tuesday morning. Instead, the club moved quickly to accelerate its search for a replacement, with Scott Parker emerging as the leading candidate to take charge.
Parker was rushing into West Ham ahead of schedule
Scott Parker Hurried In Ahead Of Cardiff
The former Hammers midfielder was subsequently lined up for a two-and-a-half-year contract, with West Ham determined to have their new manager in place as quickly as possible.
As we revealed yesterday, Parker’s proposed agreement includes clauses linked to securing promotion back to the Premier League, while Nuno’s departure is expected to cost the club just under £3million in compensation.
The speed of the change has created an unusual situation ahead of tonight’s Championship trip to Cardiff City. Mark Noble has been overseeing preparations alongside Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville, although Claret & Hugh understands Parker will attend the match and could have some influence on team selection.
The rest, as they say, is history. West Ham had been preparing to give Nuno another two games, but Monday’s meeting brought that process to an unexpectedly early conclusion.
And while we may never discover precisely what was said behind closed doors, tonight’s trip to Wales provides an immediate opportunity for the players to put a dreadful couple of weeks behind them and begin moving forward under a new regime.
He was just stringing them along…..waiting for his dough
Yeah i think you’re right.Probably thought i’ll give them a few glib answers and i’ll be out of here with my dosh!
Scott needs to hit the ground running. A pragmatic approach to getting the best out of the squad we have is vitally important.
Nuno was still playing around with nuanced differences and his plan was to get some out and get some more in in January to continue building ‘his’ team.
We did not have the time for this plan. We need the team to perform now.
Come on Scotty!