London, Nov 4 (IANS) West Ham United announced Scott Parker’s appointment as the club’s new men’s first-team head coach on Wednesday. The former Hammers captain has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at London Stadium.
Parker, who succeeded Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked on Tuesday after the back-to-back losses left the club eighth in the Championship table, will take charge of the team for Wednesday evening’s EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City.
The 46-year-old will be assisted by coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, while Mark Noble will also be working closely with his former team-mate.
The former Fulham, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley boss, Parker, arrives having achieved the outstanding feat of promotions from the EFL Championship to the Premier League with all three clubs in 2020, 2022 and 2025 – winning the EFL Championship Manager of the Season award in 2024/25 with Burnley.
“It is a very proud moment for me to step into this role and return to a Club that means so much to me and my family. A lot of very fond memories of my time here – four years of probably the best football I played in my career,” Parker said.
“There was a warmth, a love, a feeling that I probably didn’t have anywhere else. There was something which stood out constantly, and that was the relationship that I built up with the fanbase here. That rapport and respect, that I felt instantly.
“More than anything, this is an opportunity that I am very excited about. I feel privileged and honoured to be the guy that wants to lead us back to the Premier League and be the head coach of this Football Club at this moment in time,” he added.
Parker now returns to the Club for whom he made 129 appearances as a player between 2007 and 2011, during which time he was named Hammer of the Year three times in a row and won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award in the 2010/11 season – becoming only the second player in the Club’s history, after Bobby Moore, to receive the prestigious honour.
West Ham interim CEO Karim Virani added, “He is someone who is held in high regard at West Ham United and throughout the game, and he was the unanimous choice of the Board to become our new head coach.
“He has fantastic experience and pedigree across an outstanding playing and coaching career, a clear and proven track record of success as a Head Coach in the EFL Championship, and a deep understanding of West Ham United, its identity and our loyal and passionate fanbase.”
–IANS
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