West Ham Hires Scott Parker as New Head Coach

West Ham United named Scott Parker as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract on Tuesday. The 46-year-old former midfielder takes over from Nuno Espirito Santo, who was dismissed earlier this week following a poor start to the Championship campaign.

Parker will make his debut as head coach on Wednesday when the team travels to Cardiff City. He will be assisted by first-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville, and Billy Lepine. Mark Noble, a former teammate of Parker, will work closely with him in his role as sporting director. The club stated that further announcements regarding the backroom staff will be made in the coming days.

Parker has a proven record in the second tier of English football. He previously led Fulham, Bournemouth, and Burnley to promotion from the Championship. He had been out of work since leaving Burnley in April after their relegation from the Premier League.

The appointment follows back-to-back home defeats for West Ham against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion. The club sits eighth in the Championship table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough. They have won two of their last six matches. Parker becomes the fourth permanent manager at the club since David Moyes departed in May 2024.

Parker emphasized his connection to the club in a statement on the team's website. He described the role as a proud moment and expressed excitement about leading the team back to the top flight. "I've been in this division three times and I've got out of this division three times," Parker said.

The squad underwent significant changes over the summer. The club generated approximately 150 million pounds from player sales, including Mateus Fernandes and James Ward-Prowse. They spent a Championship record 22 million pounds on Celtic midfielder Arne Engels and 12 million pounds on Norwegian winger Edvin Austbo. Key players like Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek remained at the club.

Interim chief executive Karim Virani stated that Parker was the unanimous choice of the board. Virani noted Parker's deep understanding of the club's identity and its fanbase. Parker joined West Ham as a player in 2007 for 7 million pounds and made 129 appearances for the team before moving to Tottenham Hotspur.