The 52-year-old manager had been in charge since September 2025, taking over from Graham Potter. However, he was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation from the Premier League last season after a difficult campaign.

Despite entering the Championship as one of the pre-season favourites for an immediate return to the top flight, West Ham have struggled for consistency. They currently find themselves four points adrift of the automatic promotion places and six points behind league leaders Middlesbrough.

Recent results compounded the pressure on the coaching staff, with the team winning only two of their last six fixtures. Back-to-back home defeats, including a 3-2 loss against Southampton prior to the weekend reverse against West Bromwich Albion, ultimately forced the club's board into action.

Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also left their roles with immediate effect. The club confirmed that the recruitment process for a permanent successor is already underway.

Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of the first team. The trio will lead the squad for their upcoming Championship fixture away against Cardiff City on Wednesday night.

Following a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season, the board of directors believe that a change is necessary at this time in order to ensure that the club's objectives and expectations remain on track, a club statement read.

The club expressed gratitude to the departing coaching staff for their efforts during their tenure. West Ham United would like to thank Nuno, Rui and Rui for their hard work and commitment during their time at the club, and wish them all the very best for the future.

Jarrod Bowen had the chance to secure all three points for the hosts in the 91st minute of the encounter when the referee pointed to the penalty spot, only for opposing goalkeeper Pierce Charles to deny him.

The dramatic conclusion saw the visitors stand firm under intense late pressure from Nuno Espirito Santo's side, who failed to replicate the fluent attacking form that had seen them sweep past Wrexham 6-0 in their previous home fixture.

Instead, the evening belonged to QPR and their young shot-stopper Charles, whose crucial intervention ensured his side claimed a valuable point on the road and climbed to fifth position in the league standings.

The game began in subdued fashion for the home side, who laboured through a disjointed first half that yielded just two shots and a total expected goals value of a meagre 0.07.

Queens Park Rangers capitalised on their opponents' sluggish start, breaking the deadlock after just 18 minutes through a highly controversial penalty awarded by referee Ruebyn Ricardo.

The incident occurred when Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek, making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an ankle injury sustained at the World Cup, slid in to challenge Paul Smyth.

Smyth had been looking to break into the penalty area when the collision occurred, and while replays and subsequent reactions suggested Soucek clearly won the ball, the referee immediately blew his whistle for a spot-kick.

Soucek reacted with sheer disbelief at the match official's decision, later expressing his acute frustration as television pundits and co-commentators universally condemned the ruling as an incorrect call.

Co-commentator Lee Hendrie described the decision emphatically during the live broadcast, stating that it was definitely not a penalty and labelling the referee's call an absolute howler under the Friday night lights.

Studio guest Rob Green added his assessment at the half-time interval, criticising the official for failing to let the situation breathe or taking a moment to properly process the sequence of events.

Nicolas Madsen assumed responsibility for the resulting penalty kick and coolly rolled the ball home, giving the visitors a lead that they would protect successfully for the remainder of the first half.

The opening period ended with QPR holding their slender advantage, leaving the home coaching staff with plenty of tactical issues to address during the interval after a surprisingly flat display.

West Ham emerged with greater attacking intent after the restart, steadily increasing their tempo as they searched for a way back into the match against a well-organised visiting defensive unit.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 70th minute when captain Bowen came to his team's rescue, darting away from substitute Tariq Lamptey to create space inside the penalty area.

Bowen saw his initial shot blocked by a defender, but he reacted quickest to the rebound, slamming the ball home emphatically to net his seventh goal of the ongoing campaign and level the score.

The equaliser injected fresh momentum into the hosts' performance, transforming a previously pedestrian attacking display into a wave of sustained pressure as the clock ticked towards the final whistle.

As the match entered the 90th minute, West Ham manufactured another clear-cut scoring opportunity when defender Amadou Mbengue overzealously tugged the shirt of Pablo inside the area.

The match officials spotted the infringement without hesitation, awarding a second penalty of the evening to the home side and presenting Bowen with an opening to claim a dramatic late victory.

Bowen stepped up with the responsibility of securing the three points, but Charles anticipated the strike correctly, diving low to his left to parry the initial spot-kick away from danger.

The danger was not immediately cleared, allowing Arne Engels to arrive at the loose ball and attempt a follow-up shot, but Charles reacted in a flash to tip that effort over the crossbar.

Those two brilliant quickfire saves ensured that QPR escaped from east London with a share of the spoils, rewarding their defensive resilience and lifting them into the top five of the division.

Speaking to the media after the final whistle, a visibly aggrieved Soucek reiterated his strong disagreement with the first-half penalty decision that had initially put his side behind in the fixture.

The midfielder revealed that the referee had privately admitted to making a mistake following the conclusion of the match, though that admission offered little comfort given the game's ultimate outcome.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo offered a candid assessment of his team's performance, admitting that his players failed to start the contest with the required precision and rhythm.

The Portuguese coach suggested that the recent international break might have disrupted his squad's preparation, but he maintained that the club's overall quality should have produced a superior display.

Regarding the contentious refereeing decision that altered the course of the first half, Espirito Santo agreed with his players that the official had clearly got the major call wrong.

The result leaves West Ham to reflect on two dropped points at home, having missed out on the chance to climb above their promotion rivals at the summit of the fiercely competitive division.

Both teams will now turn their attention towards their upcoming fixtures in the Sky Bet Championship, where the race for promotion and the play-off places continues to intensify week by week.