Who will be in charge of West Ham United for Cardiff City clash on Wednesday following Nuno Espírito Santo sacking?

Nuno Espírito Santo has been made to pay the price for successive home defeats after the West Ham United powers that be opted to cut short his spell in the London Stadium hotseat.

The Portuguese had guided the Hammers to the upper echelons of the Championship league table last month, however back-to-back losses in East London against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion have since led to his dismissal.

While the Hammers currently sit inside the playoff places and just four points shy of the automatic promotion spots, the onus of guiding the pre-season promotion favourites back to the Premier League at the first time of asking will now fall upon somebody else's shoulders.

A club statement, posted on Tuesday morning read: "West Ham United can confirm that men’s first-team Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo has left his position with immediate effect.

"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.

"Assistant Head Coach Rui Pedro Silva and Goalkeeper Coach Rui Barbosa have also departed.

"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.

"The process of recruiting a new Head Coach is already underway."

The article, which was posted on the club's official website, also went on to confirm that a trio of current club representatives would take over first-team affairs leading into Wednesday's trip to Cardiff City.

"Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of tomorrow evening’s EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City, and the Club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new Head Coach is confirmed."

Scott Parker is amongst the favourites to take over the reigns on a permanent basis having previously proven a popular figure at the club during a successful four-year spell there as a player, before going on to establish himself as a second-tier promotion guru as a head coach.

The former England man orchestrated promotion-winning campaigns during spells with Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley and will likely tick plenty of boxes when it comes to West Ham trimming down the shortlist to replace the now departed Espirito Santo.

In the meantime it will be Noble and Potts -- who boast a combine 1,000 plus appearances for West Ham -- together with long-serving youth coach Prenderville who will take interim charge.