West Ham are ready to hand the reins to Nuno Espirito Santo after brutally sacking Graham Potter with the club stranded in the drop zone.
The Portuguese boss, 51, has held positive talks with the Hammers board and is expected to be in the dugout for Monday night’s crunch clash with Everton.
Potter was axed on Saturday morning after just eight months in charge. His reign produced only six wins in 25 matches and ended with the east Londoners in 19th place after five league games.
The club released a blunt statement saying they believed a change was necessary to improve results and admitted performances since the back end of last season had fallen well below expectations.
Potter had fronted up for media duties on Friday, insisting he had backing from the board. But less than 24 hours later the axe fell after a toxic atmosphere around the club intensified following a 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace. Fans staged protests against the ownership before kick off and chants turned against Potter during the game.
Talks with Nuno gathered pace over the past three days with the club keen to make a quick appointment. The former Wolves and Forest manager has been out of work since his dismissal at the City Ground earlier this month after just three matches of the new season.
Despite that setback he arrives with credit after leading Forest to seventh last term, their highest finish in 30 years and a spot in Europe.
Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui in January when West Ham sat 14th. He was billed as the man to steady the ship after failed stints at Chelsea and Brighton but never convinced supporters.
The Hammers spent £126m in the summer on eight signings including £38m midfielder Mateus Fernandes. They also sold Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham for £55m. But big spending brought no improvement with defeats to Sunderland, Chelsea, Spurs and Palace leaving the club in the bottom three. A Carabao Cup exit against Wolves piled on more misery.
Potter, 50, had tried to laugh off ridicule after becoming a social media meme in recent weeks with AI images of his face placed on celebrities from Barbie to Donald Trump. He admitted the jibes amused his teenage son but results were no joke.
West Ham’s board thanked Potter and his staff for their hard work but confirmed the process of appointing a replacement is already under way.
That replacement is now set to be Nuno who will be tasked with lifting the Hammers out of relegation trouble and restoring order at a club in crisis.
READ MORE WEST HAM NEWS: