Overnight drama has sparked a major West Ham shift regarding the future of head coach Graham Potter as Nuno Espirito Santo delivers his answer.
The late-night developments could prove decisive in West Ham’s hunt for a new manager with Nuno Espirito Santo and Slaven Bilic the leading candidates.
West Ham fans fully turned on Graham Potter during the latest defeat to Palace at the weekend.
Hammers supporters have been incredibly patient with Graham Potter, giving him plenty of grace after he took over midway through last season.
But just six wins in 25 games over nearly nine months has seen fed-up fans reach the end of their tethers with Potter and, even more so, the West Ham board.
Potter sack delay enrages fed-up West Ham fans
When Potter is sacked, the moment that sealed his fate will be charted back to the 78th minute of the 2-1 defeat to Palace.
After playing against bitter rivals Spurs with no striker, leaving Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug on the bench, Potter’s tactics and team selection were under scrutiny against the Eagles.
With the Hammers trailing, Potter – who had already taken Wilson off for the immobile Fullkrug – inexplicably substituted two of West Ham’s best players at the same time when he withdrew Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville.
The decision was met with ferocious boos and followed by chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ and ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’.
With West Ham lacking pace up top, super sharp young Northern Ireland striker Callum Marshall was nowhere to be seen, left out of the squad along with a host of other young stars.
Many expected to wake up on Sunday morning to an announcement Potter had been sacked.
Especially as it would give a new manager a full eight days to prepare for the next game away at Everton.
And particularly as West Ham had very high profile meetings with Nuno Espirito Santo in the lead up to the game.
But word emerged of a power struggle as David Sullivan and Karren Brady clash over the West Ham manager change.
Overnight updates suggest major West Ham shift
It was later claimed by a board confidant that West Ham had taken a ludicrous new stance to sacking Graham Potter.
That stance would likely see Potter left in the role as a dead man walking for the next two games away to Everton and Arsenal until a change is made in the October international break.
David Sullivan’s fiancée dropped a Potter sack hint as she responded to criticism from West Ham fans on social media.
Now overnight drama looks to have sparked a major West Ham shift as Nuno Espirito Santo gives his answer.
It had been suggested that another reason for West Ham delaying Potter’s now inevitable sacking was because key candidate Nuno had yet to give the job the green light.
That had seen suggestions Bilic could return on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
But major updates from Sky Sports News and The Sun suggest there may have been significant developments in the situation.
Sky Sports News made an announcement at 7.20pm having received word from the club.
Nuno Espirito Santo gives West Ham his answer
“This just in to us, West Ham are now considering the future of Graham Potter following yesterday’s defeat to Crystal Palace,” Sky Sports News announced.
“The club had targeted four or five points from the three games before the next international break (Palace, Everton and Arsenal) but we understand no (final) decision has been made about Potter’s future.
“Nuno Espirito Santo and Slaven Bilic are being considered in case a decision is made to change.”
The biggest news came from The Sun journalist Jack Rosser, though.
Rosser, who used to be the West Ham reporter for The Evening Standard, has revealed Nuno Espirito Santo is open to a swift return to management with West Ham.
That could well explain the sudden shift in the narrative overnight.
Although it remains to be seen whether Nuno is readied to come in during the two-week international break or West Ham decide to make the change imminently.
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