West Ham spoke to THREE candidates after deciding to sack boss Graham Potter TWO WEEKS AGO.
The Hammers have appointed former Tottenham and Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo – who took training on Saturday afternoon ahead of Monday night’s trip to Everton.
Graham Potter has been sacked at West Ham[/caption]
Gary O’Neil was spoken to about the job by West Ham[/caption]
But West Ham chiefs had seen enough of Potter a fortnight ago after their dismal 3-0 home defeat to bitter rivals Tottenham on September 13.
The Hammers held talks with Nuno soon after that second-half collapse – with the 51-year-old having been sacked by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis on September 9.
But the Portuguese initially rejected the opportunity because of a financial dispute with Forest relating to his severance package.
That opened the door for ex-Hammers midfielder and another former Wolves boss, Gary O’Neil – who was interviewed by West Ham owner David Sullivan on September 18.
O’Neil, who is desperate to return to Premier League management, also interviewed for the job before Potter was appointed.
And the 42-year-old was confident of landing the position after learning of Nuno’s initial rejection, with his agent Will Salthouse pushing hard for his client to get the nod.
But, Nuno was always West Ham’s first choice – and although talks with ex-Hammers boss Slaven Bilic also took place, SunSport understands they were more of a ‘Nuno encouragement ploy’ rather than a serious consideration.
Last Saturday’s equally meek 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace was Potter’s eighth consecutive London Stadium game without a win.
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West Ham then approached Nuno again, at which stage he accepted, – provided an agreement could be reached with Forest.
That agreement was finally thrashed out late on Friday and led to Saturday’s announcement that Potter was gone.
SunSport understands Potter had been aware of his impending sacking “for days” before the axe finally fell.
He knew it was coming when he faced the media in Friday’s press conference.
Though he wasn’t officially informed until afterwards.
The 50-year-old is understood to have been unfazed by the decision.
He even managed a light-hearted answer when asked about last week’s viral craze which saw X users creating memes by adding Potter’s face to famous bodies.
Potter’s coaching staff of Bruno Saltor, Billy Reid, Narcis Pelach, Casper Ankergren and Linus Kandolin have also gone.
Nuno will bring in a similar-sized coaching team of his own to the London Stadium.
