Inside West Ham’s miserable relegation: Nuno’s cold approach, a leadership void, and now a player exodus?

Those who watch West Ham United regularly will tell you the club have been sleepwalking to relegation from the moment a ball was kicked in anger in August. Some would probably argue the drift began when David Moyes left the club for the second time in the summer of 2024.

West Ham will wake up next season in the Championship after a season that has been an unmitigated mess on and off the pitch. Leadership voids, managerial turnover, a scattergun approach to recruitment and unrest in the stands have all combined to send the club down to the second tier for the first time since 2011.

Ten years on from their move to the London Stadium — one that was supposed to help the club compete with the Premier League’s elite — the general mood among the club’s fans has been one of misery and detachment, with protests against chairman David Sullivan and the now-departed vice-chair Karren Brady the soundtrack to much of the season. During the 3-0 home win against Leeds United, many shouted expletives at Sullivan throughout the encounter. Given the level of disdain, the 77-year-old vacated his seat in the director’s box before the final whistle. 

Relegation was confirmed after Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 victory over Everton. Demotion to the second tier will have far-reaching consequences on and off the pitch, with doubts over head coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s future, several players expected to leave and job losses likely to come behind the scenes.

West Ham’s players react after Sunday’s defeat at Newcastle (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

This season has been a sorry tale, and The Athletic, having spoken to sources in and around the club, who were speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, can reveal for the first time what went wrong for Nuno at West Ham, including how:

• Many players believed the team prepared better for matches under Potter than Nuno
• Nuno often chose not to talk to players during half-time or after matches
• Nuno was unable to bring in his backroom staff from his successful Forest spell  
• The manager clashed with assistant Mark Robson during the 3-0 loss at Wolves
• The club must raise £150m in player sales this summer — and Mateus Fernandes has no release clause

A year ago, a fresh start was expected with Graham Potter, who had been appointed head coach in January 2025, attempting to oversee a cultural reboot.

A host of senior players, many of whom were stalwarts of the Europa Conference League-winning squad of 2023, left. They included Lukasz Fabianski, 41, Kurt Zouma, 31, Vladimir Coufal, 33, Aaron Cresswell, 36, Danny Ings, 33 and Michail Antonio, 35.

Antonio, the club’s all-time scorer in the Premier League, failed to agree to terms of a new deal after recovering from the car crash that threatened his life, and was informed of his release by then head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay.

Those departures, particularly of Antonio, Cresswell and Coufal, left big leadership holes. Antonio had been in charge of fining players who arrived late for training at Rush Green, as well as organising team-bonding exercises, while Cresswell regularly helped non-playing staff with off-field matters. Coufal often trained on his days off with his Czech compatriot Tomas Soucek.

After they left, Potter needed to identify new personnel to set standards, replicate their work rate, and help build team spirit.

Graham Potter attempted a cultural reboot before being sacked by West Ham (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

The squad returned for training on July 8, and Potter had drawn up a long list of targets. Jean-Clair Todibo’s season-long loan from Nice had been converted into a permanent deal but the lack of additions had left the squad thin.

Potter identified Mateus Fernandes, 21, as a top transfer target. Although the midfielder was part of the Southampton side that suffered relegation to the Championship, Potter was drawn to Fernandes’ ball-playing attributes. In August, West Ham’s opening offer of £30million including add-ons was rejected, but a deal was finalised in the region of £38m.

Left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, the £19m arrival from Slavia Prague, was the first summer signing and Casper Ankergren, the then goalkeeping coach, pushed for Mads Hermansen’s signature from Leicester City, having worked together at Danish side Brondby, for £20m.

Callum Wilson and Kyle Walker-Peters joined as free transfers following the expiry of their contracts at Newcastle United and Southampton, respectively. Soungoutou Magassa signed from French side Monaco and Igor Julio arrived on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Despite the additions of eight players, West Ham missed out on midfield targets Harvey Elliott, Douglas Luiz and James McAtee, and still looked short of depth and quality — a theme that has been telling all season.

Potter was stamping his authority on the squad, but lost important players in the process. Full-back Emerson Palmieri had a strained relationship with Potter after returning to pre-season overweight and turning up late to training on a few occasions. Potter made the defender train with the under-21s and Palmieri was not included in the squad for their pre-season tour to America. He was sold to Marseille for €700,000 along with centre-back Nayef Aguerd.

Potter had concerns about Mohammed Kudus’ end product, and the Ghana international joined London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £55m. The manager also clashed with midfielder Edson Alvarez, which led to the Mexico international heading to Fenerbahce on a season-long loan.

The build-up told when West Ham were soundly beaten 3-0 on the opening day of the season by newly-promoted Sunderland.

Potter’s team lost three of their opening four games, conceding 11 goals, and a young supporter attempted a solo pitch invasion in protest during the 5-1 home loss to Chelsea. The club captain Jarrod Bowen then clashed with a supporter after the third round Carabao Cup loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was not a happy start to the season.

Jarrod Bowen had to be dragged away from fans after a League Cup defeat at Wolves (James Gill/Getty Images)

There was respite in a 3-0 win at the end of August against Nottingham Forest, then managed by Nuno, but concern internally grew stronger following back-to-back losses against Tottenham and Crystal Palace. Supporters turned on Potter for the first time with chants of, “You don’t know what you’re doing”, and, “You’re getting sacked in the morning” in both home games. West Ham were 19th in the table and in deep trouble.

Hermansen had replaced Alphonse Areola as No 1 but the Denmark international was vulernable when dealing with crosses into the box. Narcis Pelach, the then-set-piece coach, worked on addressing this during the international break before Tottenham’s arrival at the London Stadium.

The players had worked on defending corners — not that you could tell, as they conceded twice from set pieces in a 3-0 defeat, and several players considered Pelach out of his depth.

Potter had lost the dressing room and his relationship with Todibo became particularly strained, as The Athletic reported previously.

The board were aware of the unrest and Potter’s time was up on September 27. He had overseen training and fulfilled his pre-match media duties for the trip to Everton as questions about his viral face-swap trend dominated the press conference.

Unbeknownst to Potter, the hierarchy had sounded out interest from Nuno, who had been sacked by Forest on September 9, and their former manager Slaven Bilic. Nuno was the preferred option because the board felt he had a better chance of securing Premier League safety.

After being relieved of his duties as players arrived for training, Potter said farewell to the squad, and training that had been scheduled for 9.30am was cancelled. Nuno’s appointment as head coach was announced at 2.45pm. Although he became the highest-paid manager in West Ham’s 130-year history, a number of clauses were inserted into his three-year contract. He would receive a significant salary reduction in the event of relegation and could be sacked without compensation if they dropped down to the Championship.

Nuno was unable to appoint his trusted staff from Forest because of a legal dispute with his former club over his sacking. West Ham’s academy coaches Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine joined Nuno’s backroom staff with Rui Barbosa, the goalkeeping coach, and Paco Jemez, the first-team coach, the other additions later in the season.

Nuno was unable to bring his Forest staff to West Ham (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

It was a contributing factor behind Nuno’s slow start, with West Ham failing to win in their first four league games under him.

In the first two months of Nuno’s reign, concerns grew among the players about the lack of tactical preparation for games. Nuno was not hands-on in training, with responsibilities instead delegated to Robson, Potts and Prenderville. Despite the struggles under Potter, many believed the team prepared better for matches under him when it came to video analysis and tactical team meetings.

Under Nuno, training was often split into two groups: the starting XI and fringe players. It is here where James Ward-Prowse felt the wrath of Nuno.

The duo worked together at Forest during Ward-Prowse’s ill-fated loan spell which was cut short in January 2025. When Nuno greeted the players after overseeing his first training session, he informed Ward-Prowse privately that he would not feature in his plans. The 31-year-old midfielder had to train by himself. The board were concerned with how Nuno alienated Ward-Prowse, but felt they had to back him because he was their appointment.

Ward-Prowse was sidelined by Nuno after he arrived at the club (Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)

After the 3-2 home loss to Aston Villa on December 14, West Ham remained in the relegation zone and were three points behind Leeds in 17th. At that point, they had won only two of their 11 league games under Nuno.

Given the low morale and poor performances, it was decided there would not be a Christmas party. The players had not done any team-bonding exercises since the departures of Antonio, Cresswell, Coufal and Zouma, and a new WhatsApp group had not been started.

Off the field, tension grew stronger between Nuno, Robson, Potts, Prenderville and Lepine. According to multiple sources, the coach openly admitted he did not trust them, and the board had two solutions. The first was pitched in late December when they asked Nuno to consider an external appointment.

Nuno thought of Jemez, his former team-mate at Deportivo de La Coruna in the mid-1990s. Jemez had not held a coaching role after managerial spells at Spanish sides Rayo Vallecano and Ibiza, but Nuno was convinced the Spaniard would be the ideal fit, and he was appointed on January 15.

Another solution was to appoint a director of football before the January transfer window, but Brady, the then vice-chair, felt it would disrupt Nuno’s first window, and the situation would be reassessed in the summer. But the poor form continued with further defeats against Manchester City and Fulham.

In the build-up to the 3-0 loss to Wolves on January 3, Nuno had a disagreement with Wilson and informed the striker he could leave, but he needed the forward to feature in that game. Wilson had yet to play a full match since his summer move, but did so in this fixture.

Wilson has mostly been used as a substitute this season (Kevin Hodgson/Getty Images)

Wilson is not the only person that Nuno fell out with at the start of the year. He often chose not to speak to the players during half-time and after games. At the interval against Wolves, Robson attempted to give the players a rollicking because of the poor performance. Nuno told his assistant coach to sit down and there was a heated exchange.

Nuno still retained full support from West Ham’s hierarchy despite the defeat, but internally, they admitted for the first time that the club could go down. Pablo Felipe was the first January arrival, from the Portuguese side Gil Vicente. The 22-year-old striker joined for €20m but the medical team advised Nuno not to sign Pablo because he had a hamstring injury. He ignored their advice.

Taty Castellanos spoke to the former West Ham forward Carlos Tevez before joining from Serie A side Lazio, and other arrivals included Adama Traore from Fulham, who was later banned from lifting weights at West Ham’s training ground. Axel Disasi and Keiber Lamadrid joined on loan from Chelsea and Deportivo La Guaira in Venezuela.

Two of the five signings in Traore and Pablo are represented by Nuno’s agent, Jorge Mendes. The club’s failure to attract more players was believed to be down to many targets being reluctant to have a 50 per cent salary reduction clause in their contracts.

A third-round FA Cup home win against Queens Park Rangers kick-started a mini-revival, which led to a win away to Tottenham in the next game. Wilson’s stoppage-time winner in the 2-1 victory meant the board put a block on the striker leaving.

But two other key figures in Brady and Lucas Paqueta had expressed their intention to leave. Brady informed her inner circle that she planned to step down from her role near the end of the season. Her trusted No 2 Tara Warren had left a month earlier. Throughout the season, supporters have voiced their discontent with chants of “sack the board” and a protest was held in September before the 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace. In the 1-0 win against Fulham in March, many fans sang expletives at Brady, who was sitting in the directors’ box at Craven Cottage.

Paqueta, who was cleared of spot fixing in July after a two-year investigation by the Football Association, told Nuno he was not in the right frame of mind to play and wanted to rejoin boyhood club Flamengo.

Lucas Paqueta told Nuno he wanted to go home to Brazil, and left in January (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The club pitched two scenarios to Paqueta: stay until the summer, or join Flamengo and return on loan. The midfielder was adamant he wanted to leave immediately and a third offer of €42m (£36.5m; $51.4m) was reluctantly accepted.

The plan had always been for those extra funds to be used to sign a centre-back. A host of targets were discussed, including Eric Dier (Monaco), Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse) and Alexsandro (Lille), but Nuno’s heart was set on Disasi. The Chelsea defender wanted assurances he would start, and Nuno agreed to his demands.

A four-game unbeaten spell against Burnley, Manchester United, Burton Albion (FA Cup) and Bournemouth offered hope that a corner had been turned as Spurs’ form nose-dived.

But that was short-lived when West Ham suffered a 5-2 loss against Liverpool on February 28. The team coach suffered a mechanical issue, which caused a delay to their arrival for the 3pm kick-off at Anfield, in what was perhaps a sign that they were better off staying put.

Although the team kept on picking up points through March and April (the most impressive coming in a 1-1 draw against title-chasing Manchester City), the off-field issues and ill discipline continued to pile up.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka returned late from international duty with DR Congo after helping them qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. West Ham had not given the defender permission to stay for their celebrations and had a flight scheduled for the full-back to travel back to London, but he did not turn up and missed the FA Cup quarter-final loss to Leeds United.

Nuno did not fine Wan-Bissaka, but he was dropped for the next four matches against Wolves, Crystal Palace, Everton and Brentford.

(Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Tottenham had won just two league games in 2026 before their victory against Everton, but still Nuno and his team have not been able to take advantage of their rivals’ largely dreadful form. The manner of their 3-1 defeat to Newcastle on the penultimate weekend of the season said it all, as supporters chanted, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” to the players.

After the match, Nuno said that those barbs hurt his squad, but the bigger pain will be felt by the West Ham fans, who for the first time in 15 years will suffer the harsh sting of relegation.

During the loss to Newcastle, Nuno substituted Todibo in the 25th minute for Taty Castellanos. The centre-back took issue with the substitution and complained to goalkeeping coach Barbosa. After the match, Todibo had a heated exchange with Nuno and informed the head coach he would not play for him again.

The two-time France international was not named in the matchday squad for Sunday’s win against Leeds United. Todibo, who has also previously clashed with Lopetegui and Potter, would prefer a summer exit, and he will not be the only player to potentially depart.

One of the consequences of relegation will be the need to sell first-team players to help fill the financial void. Club sources believe four or five of the club’s first-choice players will have to be sold, with the club needing to raise £150m in player sales this summer.

Among the players who could possibly leave would be Crysencio Summerville, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mateus Fernandes, and the Portugal international has attracted interest from European champions Paris Saint-Germain. The good news for West Ham is that Fernandes, who signed a five-year deal with the option of a further year last summer, does not have a release clause in his contract. West Ham can therefore hope for a bidding war that would see them make a significant profit on the £38m they paid last year.

Although some senior figures at the club hope they can persuade Bowen to stay beyond the summer, it appears likely the England international would want to remain in the Premier League. The 29-year-old has four years remaining on the seven-year deal he signed in 2023. Those not sold and still under contract would be asked to remain for one more season to help the club achieve promotion.

Following the irrelevant win against Leeds United, there were scenes of dejection among the players. Mavropanos was deep in thought, Castellanos close to tears, while Fernandes, Diouf and Disasi cut forlorn figures on the turf.

When the stadium announcer thanked the West Ham fans for their support, a smattering responded with boos. It has been the worst possible end to a miserable season.