West Ham have named Scott Parker as Nuno Espirito Santo's successor on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Nuno was axed as Hammers boss on Tuesday morning following consecutive home defeats against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion which saw the club slip to eighth in the Championship table.
West Ham were the odds-on favourites to seal an immediate return to the Premier League following their relegation last season, but it's been far from a straightforward campaign for the east London outfit, who have won six of their 13 league matches so far.
Parker is the man tasked with galvanising an underperforming West Ham squad and his objective will be to secure an immediate return to the top-flight.
A popular character among West Ham supporters having won Hammer of the Year for three consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2011, Parker is considered a promotion specialist having won the Championship play-offs with Fulham and finishing runner-up with Bournemouth and Burnley.
He has been out of work since departing Burnley at the end of April, just eight days after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
Parker will be accompanied by his former team-mate and Hammers legend Mark Noble, who has joined his backroom staff at the London Stadium.
Despite languishing in eighth, West Ham are only six points behind Championship pacesetters Middlesbrough in what's proving to be yet another intensely competitive campaign in the second tier.
Goals were not in short supply under Nuno - West Ham's 33 goals scored is comfortably the most in the Football League - but Parker will need to address their defensive frailties, having conceded in nine of their 13 league fixtures so far.
Parker's Burnley boasted a formidable defensive unit which kept a Football League record-equalling 30 clean sheets across the 2024/25 campaign, conceding an astonishing 16 goals in 46 matches.
The former Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder may look to implement the same rigid structure which helped the Clarets on their path to 100 points, whilst ensuring West Ham's array of attacking individuals have the platform to express themselves.
For the neutral, Burnley were dreary on the eye - but will West Ham supporters care too much if it ensures promotion?
Parker's first assignment will be a trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers, and the new Hammers boss has four fixtures against bottom half sides in his opening five matches before a mouth-watering showdown against Middlesbrough at the London Stadium in a month's time.
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