Who West Ham play in Nuno Espirito Santo’s first matches in charge after Graham Potter’s sacking

Add as preferred source on Google

West Ham United will appoint Nuno Espirito Santo as their new head coach after sacking Graham Potter.

TBR Football revealed that owner David Sullivan has made the decision to turn to Nuno, and the former Nottingham Forest boss could be in the dugout as early as Monday night.

Graham Potter was dismissed on Saturday after winning just six of his 25 matches in charge, while West Ham have suffered four defeats from five in the Premier League this season.

It appeared a stay of execution until the international break had been given, but Sullivan pulled the trigger after returning from a holiday in Spain. Terms had already been agreed in principle with Nuno.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s first West Ham matches

Nuno Espirito Santo’s spell will get off to a difficult start with West Ham taking on Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday, and he is expected to be in charge of the team.

Then, the Hammers will travel to Arsenal on October 4, another brutal fixture for the new man at the helm.

TBR Football reported that the club’s hierarchy had initially decided to stick with Potter until the international break, and the next two matches are certainly a trial by fire for Nuno.

Our chief correspondent Graeme Bailey described Potter as a “dead man walking” and predicted a change would be made before the Hammers’ match against Brentford, their first after domestic football resumes.

“There is a real fear that they are looking at relegation unless a change is made, and West Ham’s business plan can’t include a season or two outside the top-flight; it simply can’t happen,” Bailey said.

An away day at Leeds United on October 24 and a home game against Newcastle United at the London Stadium on November 2 will round off Nuno’s first five games in the new job.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s Premier League record

At least on paper, this appears to be a savvy appointment for West Ham.

After all, Nuno has plenty of experience managing in the Premier League and did a stellar job at both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest.

His spell at Tottenham is the only blot on his record, but the club’s decision to hire him after being turned down by numerous other candidates was ill-fated from the start.

Nuno has taken charge of 184 top-flight matches, winning 72 of them, drawing 45 and losing 67. This has culminated in a tally of 261 points, or an average of 1.42 points per match.

If he is able to replicate those numbers at the Hammers, they will pull away from the relegation dogfight in no time.