Nuno Espirito Santo is set to remain as West Ham manager despite being unable to prevent the club’s relegation from the Premier League.
West Ham were consigned to the Championship despite a 3-0 win over Leeds on Sunday, as Tottenham’s 1-0 victory against Everton sealed their fate and ended a 14-year spell in the top flight. Their tally of 39 points is the highest by a relegated side in 15 years.
It is a remarkable decision given the circumstances, particularly as all indications suggested the West Ham board were moving towards parting ways with the Portuguese manager, who signed a three-year deal to replace Graham Potter in September. Both West Ham and Nuno had the option to walk away for free following relegation.
A statement from the board read: ‘We held meetings with Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo early this week and are pleased to confirm that he has expressed his continued commitment to the Club – as we have to him.
‘Nuno made it very clear that he is highly motivated for the challenge of guiding West Ham United back to the top flight at the first time of asking. That must be the unquestionable goal for next season.
‘Nuno has spent one previous year in the EFL Championship and it was an outstanding success as he secured 99 points to win the title with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018.
‘While the ultimate outcome on Sunday was a painful one, the Board of Directors believe that there have been broader signs of improvement and progress in recent months, and we want Nuno to continue developing that progress.’
‘We held meetings with Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo early this week and are pleased to confirm that he has expressed his continued commitment to the Club – as we have to him’
West Ham’s majority owner David Sullivan’s girlfriend, Ampika Pickston, has insisted that finger-pointing ‘serves no merit’
The board, who were subject to vehement criticism from supporters in the London Stadium after Sunday’s match against Leeds confirmed they would be heading for the Championship, said that steps will be taken ‘to repair the Club’s relationship with its fanbase’.
They have confirmed that there will be a reduction of ‘up to 30 per cent’ across all season tickets for next season, and they will be arranging meetings with the Fan Advisory Board over the summer in order to ‘help us shape our immediate strategy for more off-field improvements’.
Meanwhile, West Ham’s majority owner David Sullivan’s girlfriend, Ampika Pickston, has insisted that finger-pointing ‘serves no merit’.
Pickston, who is 33 years her boyfriend’s junior, posted on Instagram a picture of the pair prior to Sunday’s match, writing: ‘The day started off with smiles and ended in tears. Time to re-set, regroup and restructure.
‘It’s easy to point the finger and blame this serves no merit. Lessons are learnt, you learn from experiences. Life shapes us all, only way for us is UP now.’
Prior to West Ham, Nuno spent a little over a year with Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia before returning to England with Nottingham Forest.
He went on to keep them up in 2023-24 before guiding them to seventh place and European qualification the following season. He was sacked in September 2025, less than three months after signing a new three-year deal.
Former Man United defender Gary Neville had urged West Ham to stick with Nuno – as well as ensuring captain Jarrod Bowen stays on, too.
‘The manager and Bowen are the two most important figures. I think they need to lock that in quite quickly,’ he said on the Gary Neville podcast on Sunday.
‘I’ll be amazed if West Ham’s ownership haven’t put a huge incentive forward to Nuno to stay. If they were smart, they would announce that in the next 48 hours.
‘By the end of the week, you want to try and lock Jarrod Bowen in with a big contract to stay, which will be difficult because they are going to lose a lot of revenue this year.
‘That then stabilises the dressing room potentially and stabilises the fanbase somewhat from where they will be (on Sunday night) which is absolutely desperately disappointed.
‘It’s about stabilising beyond this. They have probably planned for this for a number of weeks. You’d have to, not just financially but also because of resources and personnel.
‘It’s important they get some good PR messages out there quite quickly.’
