Scott Parker named West Ham coach as former Hammer bids to secure promotion to Premier League

Scott Parker has been appointed head coach of West Ham , joining his former club on a two-and-a-half-year deal. Parker joins one day after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked , and with West Ham sitting eighth in the Championship . Parker, who played for the east London club between 2007 and 2011 , is tasked with securing promotion after West Ham were relegated from the Premier League last season. The former midfielder’s pedigree in that realm was surely crucial to his appointment here; the 46-year-old promoted Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley to the Premier League at the first time of asking. However, his Fulham and Burnley sides were immediately relegated in the following seasons, while he was sacked by Bournemouth early into their first term back in the top flight. Parker’s first game in charge comes swiftly, as his team visit Cardiff City in the Championship on Wednesday night. The game follows West Ham’s 3-1 loss at home to West Brom last Saturday. Parker, who was voted Hammer of the Year three years in a row as a player, said: “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. Parker during his time as a player at West Ham (Getty) “A lot of very fond memories of my time here – four years of probably the best football I played in my career. 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. My energy levels, my enthusiasm, my desire, my passion – it’s absolutely running through and that's the feeling I had as soon as there was a conversation that this was possible. “That’s exactly why I’m here and why I want to be here. From my first calls with Karim [Virani, interim CEO] and Daniel [Kretinsky, joint-chair], it was clear they have a shared vision and desire to return the Club to the Premier League as quickly as possible. I share that ambition and I’m very confident we can achieve it. Nuno Espirito Santo joined West Ham in late September 2025 but could not avoid the drop (PA) “I’ve been in this division three times and I've got out of this division three times. This is a tough division, there is absolutely no denying it. And I will use every ounce of my experience, every ounce of my knowledge, to have an understanding of what we’re going to need to bring consistency. “And that’s going to be the key word for all of us really. The consistency of what we do and the commitment levels that we go to will give us the best opportunity to get out of this division and be the team that we can be.” Most recently, the former England international was in charge of Burnley, leaving the club in April after their relegation to the Championship was confirmed.