Scott Parker returns to West Ham on two-and-a-half-year deal

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Scott Parker has returned to West Ham United as head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the former captain taking immediate charge of the club’s attempt to return to the Premier League.

The appointment was confirmed on Wednesday, 4 November, a day after Nuno Espírito Santo was dismissed. West Ham are eighth in the Championship after 13 matches, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough, following their relegation from the top flight last season.

Parker, 46, was appointed to take charge of Wednesday evening’s away match against Cardiff City. The club has handed him responsibility for the fixture immediately after announcing his appointment.

He brings three promotions from the Championship: with Fulham in 2020, Bournemouth in 2022 and Burnley in 2025. He was named the division’s manager of the season for the last of those campaigns, but left Burnley in April after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.

The move reunites Parker with the club he represented between 2007 and 2011. He made 129 appearances for West Ham and was voted Hammer of the Year in three consecutive seasons. In 2011, he also won the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year award.

First-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine will assist him, while Mark Noble will work closely with his former team-mate. West Ham said further details of the permanent coaching structure would follow.

Interim chief executive Karim Virani said Parker had been the board’s unanimous choice. Parker identified promotion as his objective and stressed the need for consistent performances, drawing on his experience of taking three different clubs out of the division.