West Ham United have named former captain Scott Parker as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The 46-year-old takes over just a day after the London club dismissed Nuno Espirito Santo following a difficult run in the EFL Championship.
According to Punch, Parker is set to direct proceedings immediately, starting with Wednesday evening's Championship match against Cardiff City. Nuno lost his job on Tuesday after only 13 games into the campaign, leaving the side eighth in the standings following back-to-back defeats. West Ham also confirmed the departures of assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa alongside the Portuguese tactician.
Parker returns to familiar territory, having featured in 129 games for the Hammers between 2007 and 2011. During his playing spell in East London, the former England midfielder collected the club's Player of the Year honour three times in a row. He also won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award for the 2010/11 season, making him the first West Ham player to receive the prize since Bobby Moore.
The manager arrives with a solid track record of securing Championship promotion. He previously guided Fulham up in 2020, Bournemouth in 2022, and Burnley in 2025, where he also claimed the Championship Manager of the Season award. He also had a brief managerial spell abroad with Belgian outfit Club Brugge.
Speaking on the club's website, Parker described his appointment as an emotional homecoming. He stated that leading the club back toward the top tier is an exciting opportunity, pointing out that he knows how demanding the division can be after earning promotion out of it three times before.
West Ham announced that first-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville, and Billy Lepine will assist Parker, with former teammate Mark Noble working closely with him. The club noted that additional confirmations regarding the permanent backroom structure will be released later.
