Even when Graham Potter was appointed West Ham head coach in January, you couldn’t shake the sense it was a decision made without complete conviction.
At first, chairman David Sullivan preferred to offer Potter a short-term deal that would last until the end of that season.
When that was declined, it is understood West Ham explored the possibility of a longer deal including a break clause that could have been activated last summer.
Even when the move for Potter was at an advanced stage, there were dalliances with former AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca and ex-Paris St-Germain manager Christophe Galtier.
Potter was eventually appointed as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement, but the decision did not seem unequivocal.
Nine months later, those early cracks have deteriorated into irretrievable chasms.
Potter has been sacked, with a forgettable record of six wins from 25 matches.
To put that in context, Lopetegui was afforded just 22 games in charge, but managed more victories – seven – than his successor.
It’s a damning indictment for Potter, whose possession-based approach promised a return to the West Ham traditions of passing, forward-thinking football.
Instead, fans became accustomed to disappointment.
And last weekend’s home defeat by Crystal Palace – a game that took place amid a backdrop of supporter protests against the board and ownership – was the final straw.
BBC Sport revealed after the game that the club had started exploring replacements for Potter, with Nuno Espirito Santo among the contenders.
Once that happens, things are often irretrievable for the man in position.
And so it has turned out, with Potter gone and Nuno charged with taking the club forward.
Why Nuno is the ‘common-sense option’
Appointing Nuno is the common-sense decision.
West Ham are in the relegation zone and, though it may irk fans to read it, not too good to go down.
Nuno’s pragmatic approach is a far cry from what Potter was trying to implement, and what Hammers fans would ideally see from their team.
But needs must for West Ham at the moment.
Nuno has vast experience in ensuring his teams stay in the Premier League – he did it with Wolves, then again with Nottingham Forest.
Sources close to the situation have told BBC Sport steps towards the 51-year-old’s appointment started before the game against Palace.
Primarily on an exploratory basis, the Hammers were keen to determine whether he would be willing to return to work so soon after losing his job at the City Ground.
The initial response was encouraging – he intimated he was open to it.
There were others in the frame, too. Slaven Bilic – a former Hammers player and manager – was also considered.
Bilic would have been a romantic appointment – and it perhaps goes without saying he would have jumped at the opportunity to return to east London.
According to sources close to Bilic, he was already planning his coaching team.
Mark Noble – the club’s sporting director – would have been sounded out about taking on a coaching remit, while former Hammers defender James Collins was in line for a return to the club.
Intriguingly, it is understood Bilic would have been willing to take the job on a deal that ran until the end of the season – making him an attractive proposition to Sullivan, who is believed to have preferred a short-term appointment.
Defeat by Palace sharpened the mind. Potter’s reign was effectively over – a matter of when not if.
The focus at the start of this week centred on Nuno. Sources indicated Sullivan, at least at that point, maintained his preference to make an appointment until the summer while offering a ‘huge bonus’ should the new man keep them in the Premier League.
But as one well-placed source said to BBC Sport: “Why would Nuno agree to that?”
His stock is high. He transformed Forest from a club threatened with relegation to one playing in Europe this season.
His body of work at the City Ground is, effectively, why West Ham have appointed him.
Indeed, despite the obvious ease of appointing Bilic, talks with Nuno have been ongoing since the start of the week.
BBC Sport sources indicated on Wednesday that Sullivan was minded to meet Nuno’s requests, and it is understood agreement on a three-year deal was finally reached on Friday evening.
Was Potter ever afforded the conditions to succeed?
Potter told West Ham’s players of his impending departure when they gathered at the club’s Essex training centre on Saturday morning.
There is understood to have been an element of shock from the squad. Given he had taken Friday’s media conference to preview Monday’s trip to Everton, there was every expectation from the players that Potter would be handed another opportunity to salvage his job.
Potter retained the support of certain senior players despite poor results.
By the same token, there were others not so enamoured by the former Chelsea head coach’s approach. The fact Potter remained in situ was a factor for at least one player who sought a move away from West Ham during the summer window.
That isn’t unusual; rarely does a manger have universal backing from his squad.
As he reflects on his time at West Ham, Potter may ask himself whether he was ever afforded the conditions to succeed.
He was – to a point. The club appointed Kyle Macaulay as head of recruitment shortly after Potter’s appointment. Macaulay has a long-standing relationship with Potter, and is now almost certain to leave in the not-too-distant future.
But, ultimately, West Ham is West Ham.
In terms of recruitment, the manager will rarely have the grasp on transfers he believes he needs.
Sullivan – more often than not – runs that side of things, though there has has been a clear move from him and the club’s board towards a more modern executive model in recent years. The appointment of Tim Steidten in 2023 as the club’s first technical director appeared to indicate Sullivan was ready to relinquish at least a semblance of his power.
Similarly, multiple sources have indicated Sullivan’s son Jack – a director at the club – is becoming increasingly key behind the scenes, and is keen to have a greater influence moving forward.
In his mid-70s, Sullivan appeared to be winding down.
But it has not gone unnoticed that the internal restructuring hasn’t gone according to plan.
“West Ham were better off when Sullivan was in full control,” said one source.
Large swathes of the fanbase may beg to differ with that statement, of course.
For them, Sullivan and the board are at the heart of a perceived lack of progression.
But it is worth remembering that in the three seasons prior to Steidten’s appointment, West Ham finished sixth, seventh and 14th, as well as winning the Europa Conference League under David Moyes in 2023.
Despite the current angst, you’d imagine West Ham supporters long for that level of success.
With Steidten long gone and Macaulay set to follow, all eyes – not for the first time – are on Sullivan. And Nuno, of course.
