Next West Ham manager favourites as Graham Potter sacked hours after taking press conference
West Ham have confirmed they have sacked Graham Potter just hours after he was allowed to take a press conference.
West Ham have sacked Graham Potter, and while the sacking won’t come as a huge surprise after five defeats in six games to start the season, the timing of it is beyond bizarre. The Hammers seemingly decided to wait until at least after the away clash with Everton on Monday, and they even let Potter take a pre-match press conference on Friday.
Hours later, on Saturday morning, they announced that they were sacking Potter after around eight months in the job.
A club statement confirmed: “West Ham United can confirm that Head Coach Graham Potter has left the Club. Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025/26 season have not matched expectations, and the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible.
“The Club can confirm that Assistant Coach Bruno Saltor, First Team Coaches Billy Reid and Narcis Pelach, Lead Goalkeeper Coach Casper Ankergren, and Goalkeeper Coach Linus Kandolin have also left with immediate effect.
“The Board would like to thank Graham and his coaching staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future. The process of appointing a replacement is underway. The Club will be making no further comment at this time.”
The sacking and the timing of it suggest that West Ham have likely already agreed to appoint a new manager, and former Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was reportedly in London for multiple rounds of talks this week, although he needed to agree to resolve contractual terms with Forest before completing his West Ham arrival.
Santo has not been confirmed yet, but he is the obvious favourites. Here is the full list of favourites at this early stage:
Next West Ham manager odds
Nuno Espirito Santo - 4/7
Slaven Bilic - 5/4
Gary O’Neil - 5/1
Sean Dyche - 12/1
Scott Parker - 12/1
Michael Carrick - 14/1
Liam Rosenior - 20/1
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