West Ham appoint Scott Parker as head coach on two-and-a-half-year deal
West Ham United confirmed on Wednesday that former midfielder Scott Parker has been appointed their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The 46-year-old replaces Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked on Tuesday after the club’s disappointing start to the Championship season.
Parker, who previously led Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley to promotion from the Championship, has been out of work since leaving the Clarets in April following their relegation from the Premier League. He becomes West Ham’s fourth permanent manager since David Moyes left the London Stadium in May 2024 and will take charge for the first time on Wednesday when West Ham travel to Cardiff City in the Championship.
First-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine will assist Parker, while former team-mate Mark Noble will work closely with him in the role of sporting director. The club said it will make further announcements on the backroom team in the coming days and weeks.
Parker said: "It is a very proud moment for me to step into this role and return to a club that means so much to me and my family." He added: "There was a warmth, a love, a feeling that I probably didn't have anywhere else. There was something which stood out constantly and that was the relationship that I built up with the fanbase here. That rapport and respect, that I felt instantly. "More than anything, this is an opportunity that I am very excited about. I feel privileged and honoured to be the guy that wants to lead us back to the Premier League and be the head coach of this football club at this moment in time. "My energy levels, my enthusiasm, my desire, my passion - it's absolutely running through and that's the feeling I had as soon as there was a conversation that this was possible. That's exactly why I'm here and why I want to be here."
He also reflected on initial conversations with the club's leadership, saying: "From my first calls with Karim [Virani, interim chief executive] and Daniel [Kretinsky, largest shareholder], it was clear they have a shared vision and desire to return the club to the Premier League as quickly as possible. I share that ambition and I'm very confident we can achieve it."
Parker was quickly identified as the front-runner after Nuno's dismissal, which followed back-to-back home defeats by Southampton (3-2) and West Bromwich Albion (3-1). West Ham have won two of their past six league games and have dropped from second place after those home losses.
The club generated around £150m in transfer revenue over the summer following relegation, with departures including Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville, El Hadji Malick Diouf, James Ward-Prowse and Freddie Potts. Incoming additions cited by the club include Arne Engels for a Championship-record £22m from Celtic and Edvin Austbo for a reported £12m, while Joel Veltman and Manor Solomon arrived on free transfers; key players retained include Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Interim chief executive Karim Virani said: "He is someone who is held in high regard at West Ham United and throughout the game, and he was the unanimous choice of the board to become our new head coach. He has fantastic experience and pedigree across an outstanding playing and coaching career, a clear and proven track record of success as a head coach in the EFL Championship, and a deep understanding of West Ham United, its identity and our loyal and passionate fanbase. "We believe that all of these factors together make him the right man to lead us forward and help the club to achieve our objectives this season and beyond. "Scott has the complete support of everyone here and, from the conversations we have had with him already, we believe he will represent West Ham United and our supporters in a way that we can all be extremely proud of."
Parker has said of the division: "I've been in this division three times and I've got out of this division three times. This is a tough division, there is absolutely no denying it. "I will use every ounce of my experience, every ounce of my knowledge, to have an understanding of what we're going to need to bring consistency."
He will lead West Ham for the first time on Wednesday when the club travel to Cardiff City in the Championship.
