Scott Parker named West Ham head coach, as Hammers come back from 3-0 down to draw at Cardiff

4th November 2026

Updated 4 Nov 2026, 21:57 · First published 4 Nov 2026

West Ham United signage outside the London Stadium in Stratford — West Ham United signage at the London Stadium. Photo: Matt Brown / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Scott Parker is back at West Ham. The former Hammers captain has been named head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract, replacing Nuno Espírito Santo, who was sacked after a 3-1 defeat at West Brom left the club eighth in the Championship.

His first game in charge, at Cardiff City tonight, was a rollercoaster. West Ham were 3-0 down at half-time, then hit back to draw 3-3.

FULL TIME: Cardiff City 3-3 West Ham
⚽ Cardiff: Jack Moylan 11′, 37′ (pen), 39′ (hat-trick)
⚽ West Ham: Divine Mukasa 58′, Arne Engels 65′, Max Kilman 82′
🔄 West Ham came back from 3-0 down at half-time in Scott Parker’s first game

Scott Parker at West Ham: the key facts
📝 Contract: two and a half years
🔄 Replaces: Nuno Espírito Santo
📊 West Ham: 8th in the Championship after relegation last season
🏆 Parker has won promotion from the Championship three times as a manager: Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley
⚒️ As a player: 129 games for West Ham (2007-2011), club captain, FWA Footballer of the Year 2011
🏟️ First game: Cardiff City v West Ham, tonight

From 3-0 down to 3-3 in Cardiff

Jack Moylan scored a first-half hat-trick for Cardiff: a strike after 11 minutes, a penalty on 37 and a header from a corner two minutes later.

Whatever Parker said at half-time worked. Divine Mukasa lobbed in on 58 minutes, Arne Engels made it 3-2 seven minutes later, and Max Kilman scored the equaliser from a Jarrod Bowen cross with eight minutes left. Bowen was involved in all three goals.

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KILMAN GETS THE EQUALISER! 🔵 3-3 ⚪️ (82′)
— West Ham United (@WestHam) @WestHam

Max Kilman completes the comeback in Cardiff

A point on the road 🤝
— West Ham United (@WestHam) @WestHam

West Ham after the 3-3 draw

“A very proud moment”

Parker said it was “a very proud moment for me to step into this role”. The club’s interim chief executive, Karim Virani, said West Ham were “delighted to welcome Scott and his family back”.

Parker will be helped by first-team coaches Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, with former captain Mark Noble also working closely with him.

The 46-year-old is a promotion specialist in the Championship. He took Fulham up through the play-offs in 2020, won automatic promotion with Bournemouth in 2022 and Burnley in 2025.

Sources: ESPN, West Ham United on X, LiveScore.