The West Ham United board, led by David Sullivan and Karren Brady, insist that Nuno Espirito Santo retains their trust.
Or, at least, that was the message given to Hammers News at the beginning of the week.
If the head coach could survive a 3-0 trouncing by Wolves – the board insisted that Nuno would not be sacked in the aftermath of that Molineux meltdown – the 2-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest three days later poses further, increasingly-awkward questions of the West Ham United leadership.
Vice-chair Karren Brady, in an interview with talkSPORT back in August, said the owners took pride in the patience they tend to award their managers. Sacking Graham Potter and then Nuno Espirito Santo within four months of each other would arguably not betray a lack of patience, though.
If you could replace Nuno with one out-of-work manager, who are you picking?
And why?
Some irate Hammers supporters may argue, with Nuno’s win rate worse than even Avram Grant’s, the last manager to take the club down, that a failure to act sooner rather than later would be a dereliction of duty.
It is not as if there is a lack of talented coaches out of work right now, either.
West Ham United behind Nuno Espirito Santo despite Nottingham Forest and Wolves losses
Mark Noble has a good relationship with Enzo Maresca, albeit the recently-departed Chelsea boss appears to have his sights firmly fixed on the Manchester City job.
Slaven Bilic’s former assistant Edin Terzic may welcome a new challenge, having not worked since taking Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final.
Bilic himself held talks with David Sullivan regarding a potential Hammers return following Potter’s exit.
Former midfielder Don Hutchison would love to see Michael Carrick parachuted in, meanwhile, although Hammers News have since been told that the ex-Middlesbrough coach is not currently under consideration.
On the subject of former midfielders with a strong connection to West Ham, Gary O’Neil is a name which can be struck emphatically off any post-Nuno shortlists.
The Independent reported back in September, shortly before Potter’s sacking and Nuno’s arrival, that O’Neil had been earmarked as a potential successor. Albeit one clearly lower down the list than Nuno, a man who initially appeared to be the safest pair of hands on the market.
Aged like milk, is a phrase which feels particularly fitting here.
Pep Guardiola called Gary O’Neil ‘incredible’ at Wolves
O’Neil, as they say, knows the club. He spent two years at Upton Park between 2011 and 2013, playing alongside sporting director Mark Noble in the centre of the park.
And while his spell in charge of Wolves ended with the Molineux outfit in the relegation zone 13 months ago, that they have sunk to even greater depths since then suggests that O’Neil was far from the primary factor behind that alarming decline.
Imagine you are Nuno – What is the FIRST thing you are doing to save your job?
O’Neil, lest we forget, was extremely highly-rated in respected circles not so long ago. He guided Bournemouth to safety after replacing Scott Parker in the aftermath of a 9-0 obliteration by Liverpool. His Wolves team finished 14th in 2023/24, picking up famous wins over Man City, Tottenham and Chelsea along the way.
Eddie Howe called his work ‘incredible’, per BBC Sport. The same adjective was bestowed upon him by none other than Pep Guardiola. Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-Chan, Joao Gomes and more played the best football of their careers under him at Wolves, while the fact that Max Kilman was once viewed as a £40 million centre-back is an almighty compliment to his player development skills.
That the 42-year-old has now been headhunted to continue the fine work done by another young English coach in Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg also suggests that Wolves sacking has not left a permanent scar on O’Neil’s reputation.
O’Neil replaces Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg
O’Neil signed a contract at the Alsace outfit until the summer of 2027 today, after Rosenior was shunted from the BlueCo side project to their main cash cow in Chelsea.
“I’m excited to get started and proud to be part of this fantastic club,” says O’Neil, who takes over a side sitting seventh in Ligue 1 and one that will fancy their chances of emulating West Ham’s Conference League-winning campaign of 2023.
“[Strasbourg] is a club with a unique history, incredible passion, resilience, and of course loyal supporters who want to see this team play well and be successful. We have an exciting group of players and clear ambitious objectives for the season.
“My focus is on working hard with the squad to give everything for the club’s success.”
“I am very happy to welcome Gary O’Neil to Racing,” added Marc Keller, the club’s president. “He is a demanding and recognised coach, with a modern approach to football that is fully part of the continuity of our sports project.”
West Ham, and in particular Noble, will undoubtedly watch O’Neil’s French revolution with a great deal of interest over the next year-and-a-half.
For now, though, the focus is on Nuno and plotting an escape that would rival even the remarkable Houdini act of 2007.
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