West Ham turn to Scott Parker after Nuno Espírito Santo sacking

Scott Parker has been confirmed as West Ham's head coach, succeeding Nuno Espírito Santo less than two days after the Portuguese was sacked, the Guardian reported.

Parker has signed a two-and-a-half year contract and will take his first game in charge at Cardiff on Wednesday, with the Hammers currently eighth in the Championship.

The decision follows defeats in West Ham's last two matches, the most recent a 3-1 home loss to West Brom last Saturday that proved decisive for Nuno's position.

Parker, 46, has previous experience of guiding clubs out of the Championship, having overseen promotions to the Premier League with Burnley, Bournemouth and Fulham. He had been without a club since leaving Burnley following their relegation from the top flight last April.

"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," Parker said.

He made 129 appearances for West Ham between 2007 and 2011 and described his return as deeply personal. "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. A lot of very fond memories of my time here - four years of probably the best football I played in my career," he said.

"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," Parker added.

West Ham had stood by Nuno following last season's relegation from the Premier League, with the Portuguese having taken over from Graham Potter in late September of the previous campaign. Yahoo Sports reported that his removal came 13 months into his tenure, after he was unable to arrest the club's Premier League decline or deliver an uncomplicated start to life back in the Championship.

This season Nuno's side had won six, drawn four and lost three of their opening fixtures, leaving them eighth after a quarter of the campaign - a position Yahoo Sports described as too precarious given the financial imperative of an immediate return to the top flight.

West Ham remained the division's highest scorers under Nuno, according to Yahoo Sports, but their goal difference had already been cancelled out by leaky defending, and the club had conceded first in nine of their 16 matches in all competitions this season.

Speaking after the West Brom defeat, Nuno, 52, said: "I am always under pressure, every day." He had previously led Wolves to the Championship title in 2017/18.

Parker's reign begins immediately, with Cardiff away on Wednesday the first test of whether his promotion pedigree can translate into a revival of West Ham's Championship campaign.