West Ham stalwarts make up Nuno Espirito Santo’s backroom staff

‘Impressed by their work’

Robson, Potts, Prenderville and Lepine all have long histories with the club – something which Nuno feels is very important.

“I’ve been very impressed by their work, their knowledge and their commitment to West Ham United,” he said. “They know the club, the players and the people here very well, and that’s a great strength for us going forward. They are a great asset: people who, beyond their knowledge and effort, feel for West Ham United. This is key to the challenge we are currently facing.”

The appointments are unusual for Nuno, who usually brings in his own backroom team when taking on a new job. At Nottingham Forest, for example, he worked with Rui Pedro Silva, Julio Figueroa, Rui Barbosa and Antonio Dias – all of whom had been with him at other clubs.

Former Hammers winger Robson had been working as the club’s Senior Professional Development Phase Coach/Under-21s Lead Coach since November 2021,  although he spent the 2023/24 season as First Team Coach under David Moyes before returning to the role. 

He has also been Head Coach at Barnet and First Team Coach at Gillingham, Peterborough, Norwich, Aston Villa and Charlton, where he was also Assistant Head Coach. He also spent more than four years at the Football Association as a National Specialist Coach and has also worked with the England Under-20 and Under-17 sides.

Potts made more than 500 appearances for the Hammers in defence and midfield between 1985 and 2002. He rejoined the club on the coaching side in 2011 – initially with the Under-12 to Under-16 age groups. Since 2015, he has held senior positions with the Under-17 to Under-23 age groups and has worked closely with all the players who have moved into the first team in recent years.

Prenderville has worked his way up West Ham’s Academy, starting in the Youth Development Phase with the Under-12 to Under-16 age group. He was then promoted to the Professional Development Phase, where he coached the Under-17s to Under-23s and was part of the Under-18s coaching team in 2022/23 when they won the FA Youth Cup.

Lepine was born into a West Ham family, and joined the club’s Academy as a Goalkeeping Coach. He was appointed Head of Academy Goalkeeping in November 2020.

Macaulay moves on

Meanwhile Macaulay has left the club following the departure of Head Coach Graham Potter last month.

He had worked with Potter for more than 13 years – first joining up with him at Ostersunds as Head of Performance Analysis and then following him to Swansea, Brighton and Chelsea, where he was appointed Assistant Head of Recruitment. 

Macaulay stayed on at Stamford Bridge after Potter was sacked in April 2023, but the pair were reunited at West Ham in January this year when he was appointed as Head of Recruitment.

The Hammers announced Macauley’s departure last week, thanking him “for his dedication and hard work”.