West Ham’s “main priority” is bringing the club’s fans and players closer together, says new manager Nuno Espirito Santo but he knows there is “a lot of work” to do.
After recent protests, chants of “sack the board” could be heard during Monday’s 1-1 draw at Everton, Nuno’s first game in charge of the Hammers after replacing Graham Potter.
But, after Jarrod Bowen’s second-half equaliser had earned them a spirited point, the former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest boss took his players over to the travelling supporters at the end of the match in a show of unity and togetherness.
“What I think is important is to appreciate what our fans did traveling to Liverpool on a Monday night and giving the support they’ve given,” he said. “It’s our main priority to come closer to our fans.
“We have to deliver so they can appreciate the work of the boys. Moving forward it’s important.”
After beginning his tenure with a point on the road, Nuno said his players will “embrace the challenge”.
“I think the team competed well,” the Portuguese manager said. “It’s a tough, tough place to come, a very good team.
“Overall it was a good game, intense, both teams had chances. The message for us [to the players] is how we can compete now.”
Nuno said he has avoided making too many changes to West Ham’s tactics and is instead focusing on making incremental improvements.
“Simple, don’t change too many things,” he responded when asked about his approach. “When you arrive at a club it’s about slowly progressing and trying to find the right options and solutions. Now it’s how we can improve them.”
West Ham have appointed former Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach after sacking Graham Potter.
Nuno, 51, has signed a three-year contract with the Hammers and will take charge of his first match on Monday away at Everton in the Premier League.
Potter was dismissed on Saturday morning after only eight months in charge, with the club 19th in the table.
Nuno joins West Ham after being sacked on 9 September by Forest, who he guided to seventh in the Premier League last season – their highest finish since 1994-95.
“I am very pleased to be here and very proud to be representing West Ham United,” he said.
“My objective is to work hard to get the very best from the team and ensure that we are as competitive as we possibly can be. The work has already started and I am looking forward to the challenge that is ahead.”
Nuno joins West Ham shortly after a 21-month stint at the City Ground, where he was sacked only three games into this season.
He took his first training session in east London on Saturday afternoon before the club’s match at Everton on Monday.
West Ham said Nuno will be assisted in the interim by academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, with a further announcement on his coaching and backroom staff to be made in due course.
The Hammers took only three points from their opening five league games this season under Potter.
After dismissing the 50-year-old, West Ham said they believed “a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible”.
They added: “Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025-26 season have not matched expectations.”
In a statement via the League Managers Association, Potter said: “I am incredibly disappointed to be leaving West Ham, particularly without being able to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of our journey in east London.
“I do, however, fully acknowledge that the results have just not been good enough up to now.”
Spurs lost 22 of their 38 league matches last season, accumulating only 38 points as they finished 17th – their worst finish in the Premier League.
They conceded 65 goals, with only Wolves and the relegated trio of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton shipping more.
But Postecoglou led the club to a first major trophy in 17 years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final.
The victory secured Champions League football, but it was not enough to keep Postecoglou in a job and he was sacked by the club 16 days later.
Spurs, who appointed Thomas Frank as his successor, said Postecoglou would be remembered for delivering “one of the club’s greatest moments” in becoming only the third manager to win them a European trophy.
Tottenham finished fifth in his first season in charge before he kept his promise to provide silverware in his second year.
Postecoglou was initially praised for the attacking style he implemented, but he was forced to defend himself from criticism for sticking to his principles and had to contend with a catalogue of injuries to key players.
Internal tensions at the club were believed to centre around disagreements over their transfer business.
Previously, Nuno had criticised the club’s activity in the summer transfer window, saying they had wasted a good chance.
Edu was appointed as Forest’s global head of football earlier in the summer and has taken firm control over the club’s recruitment operation.
“I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis. This season it is not so well,” Nuno said.
“Our relationship has changed and we are not as close. Everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality.”
In total, Forest have made 13 signings for about £196m based on reported initial fees.
As for the outgoings, Anthony Elanga, Danilo and Wayne Hennessey were all among the players whose Forest careers ended this window.
In May last season, Marinakis appeared to confront Nuno on the pitch following a 2-2 draw against Leicester at the City Ground.
Forest later said the incident was because of the owner’s frustration that striker Taiwo Awoniyi had continued to play following an 88th-minute injury, which subsequently required what was described as “urgent” surgery.
The club said there was “no confrontation” and it was “fake news” to suggest otherwise.
However, those missed points against an already-relegated side were part of a run that saw Forest – who had been in contention for Champions League qualification – only pick up eight points from their last eight matches of the 2024-25 campaign.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST boss Nuno Espirito Santo and West Ham’s Graham Potter are joint-favourites to be the first Premier League managerial casualties of the 2025/26 season.
That’s according to bookmaker talkSPORT BET, who’ve updated their betting markets after more twists and turns in the Premier League sack race.
Here, SunSport takes a closer look at the leading contenders – and who’s most likely to get the boot first.
Nuno Espirito Santo – 11/8
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo remains firmly in the frame to be the first Premier League manager axed this season, amid ongoing uncertainty at the City Ground.
The 51-year-old lit the fuse last week by admitting his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis has “changed” – and that they’re “not as close” as they once were.
Tensions are understood to stem from the club’s summer transfer dealings, now overseen by Edu, with Nuno reportedly frustrated at being sidelined from key recruitment decisions.
Forest have splashed more than £150million on seven new signings – including Omari Hutchinson, Dan Ndoye, Arnaud Kalimuendo and James McAtee – but Nuno still wants more, including a new goalkeeper and two full-backs.
Despite the growing pressure, Nuno has insisted he won’t walk away – but notably refused to guarantee he’ll still be in charge by the end of the transfer window on September 1.
He had been as short as 1/2 to be the first top-flight boss shown the door, but has drifted to 11/8 following a crisis emerging at West Ham.
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Owner Evangelos Marinakis confronting Nuno Espirito Santo on the pitch back in MayCredit: GETTY
Graham Potter – 11/8
West Ham’s Graham Potter is now level with Nuno at 11/8, having shortened from 3/1 earlier in the week after a horror run of results.
His miserable week hit a new low on Tuesday when the Hammers were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Wolves, conceding twice in the final eight minutes in a 3-2 defeat – with Jorgen Strand Larsen bagging a brace.
The full-time whistle saw tempers boil over, with captain Jarrod Bowen confronting a furious supporter during heated post-match scenes.
That came on the back of a 5-1 thrashing by Chelsea at the London Stadium and an opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Sunderland.
Potter’s numbers make grim reading – just five wins in 22 matches since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January, with 12 defeats and a return of 0.95 points per game – the worst record of any manager in West Ham’s history.
The Hammers must now pick themselves up ahead of a weekend trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, before clashes against Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal.
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Jarrod Bowen is pulled away after clashing with West Ham supportersCredit: GETTY
What happened last season?
A total of eight Premier League managers were shown the door last season, with Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag the first to go in October.
Steve Cooper’s short-lived stint at Leicester came to a sudden end in November, before Wolves and Southampton parted ways with Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin on the same December afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui and Sean Dyche followed in January, their departures announced less than 24 hours apart. In April, Ivan Juric became the second Southampton manager to be sacked during the 2024–25 campaign.
Despite ending Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought, Ange Postecoglou was the final manager to leave his post, dismissed in June after overseeing the club’s worst-ever Premier League finish – 17th.
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About the author
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James Anderson is a Betting & Gaming Writer at The Sun. He is an expert in sports betting and online casinos, and joined the company in November 2020 to work closely with leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to curate content in all areas of sports betting. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter and Head of Live Blogs/Events at the Daily Express and Daily Star, covering football, cricket, snooker, F1 and horse racing.
Despite Nuno’s latest comments, it seems clear there is considerable friction behind the scenes at the City Ground.
If Forest continue to win games, then sacking him becomes that much tougher.
But can Nuno really expect to come out on top in a dispute with the owner and head of football?
“This is a battle that Nuno will lose,” European football expert Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We all know that once you start questioning your owner, it’s done. For him to come out with this unprompted, he offered it to the whole world, he knows that it is coming and that he can’t win this battle.
“We also know that him and Edu don’t get on. He was already there when Edu arrived at the club, and we all know when a new sporting director arrives, they like to come with their own people.”
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said Nuno may consider resigning now that the relationship was “broken”.
“Nuno’s stock is so high with the fanbase, they will want to fully believe in him,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But it is also so awkward for them because they will be grateful for what the owner has done for the club in the last few years.
“With Edu coming into the club in such an important position, he will want his own people in play, because they will never really fully trust the person that is already in play? If he could pick a manager now, would he pick Nuno? No.
“That will be nagging for as long as possible, but Marinakis and Edu won’t be rooting for him to fail so they can make the change.
“But the relationship is broken and I would not be surprised if Nuno walks before he is sacked.”
Nuno Espirito Santo’s future as Nottingham Forest manager is uncertain after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Nuno’s position is not completely safe despite last season’s achievement of qualifying for Europe and the opening-day win over Brentford on Sunday.
The uncertainty, according to sources, has now stretched to the playing squad who are said to be aware of the situation.
In a news conference on Friday, the 51-year-old said his relationship with Marinakis “has changed” and they are “not as close”.
“I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis,” Nuno said.
“This season it is not so well [between us] but I always believe that dialogue is important because my concern is the squad and the season we have ahead of us. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close.”
When asked if it was good his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis had changed, Nuno said: “No, it is not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but this not the reality.”
Forest have been active in the transfer market this summer, signing seven players – though they did sell winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m.
But before last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Nuno outlined his transfer concerns.
“We have doubts, who is going to be [here], when are they [new signings] going to come? All these things create doubts,” he said.
“Not only me but in the club. What we want is game-by-game to have as many options as possible. Europe will come after, and for sure it will be better, but for now until that happens it is a major concern.
“The owner is aware, the club is aware, everyone is aware. Everybody knows the reality. This is a lost chance that we had as a group to do it.”
There have been suggestions that Nuno has not been fully involved in the club’s recruitment this summer, which could be a factor in the deterioration of his relationship with Marinakis.
Forest were last season’s surprise package as they challenged for the Champions League spots and sat in the top four for the majority of the campaign.
They dropped out of contention after two wins in their final seven games but qualified for the Europa Conference League play-off stage.
Former Wolves and Tottenham head coach Nuno also took them to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1991, where they lost 2-0 to Manchester City.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said: “Nuno has made a great impact and performed very well during his time with us so far.
“He has demonstrated that he maximises player performance and is an expert at developing players, whilst also embedding our young talent into the first team set-up.
“We enjoy a strong and solid relationship together and, above all, we share the same dream and ambition of writing a new history for Nottingham Forest, competing in the Premier League and in Europe and winning trophies for our great club.”
The Monday Night Club’s Rory Smith, Theo Walcott and Chris Sutton discuss why the actions of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis could be “unhealthy for football”.
Match of the Day 2 looks at the events that led to Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis confronting manager Nuno Espirito Santo on the pitch after his side’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester at the City Ground.
