Ex-Newcastle United and Everton men leave West Ham ahead of ‘imminent’ managerial decision

West Ham have revealed that former Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan has left the club as first-team coach. Nolan had worked alongside David Moyes at the London Stadium since February 2020 - joining just a couple of months after it was confirmed that Moyes would have a second spell as Hammers boss.

However, Moyes took charge of his last game as West Ham manager at the weekend - seeing his side downed 3-1 by eventual champions Manchester City - and Nolan will be among four first-team coaches to follow him out of the door. John Heitinga, who spent five years at Everton and played under Moyes at Goodison Park, has also left West Ham.

Billy McKinley, who worked with Moyes at Real Sociedad and Sunderland and during both of his spells at the London Stadium, has also left the club, alongside Henry Newman.

Nolan also spent time as a player at West Ham after leaving Newcastle United in 2011. Nolan’s goals helped fire the Magpies to a Championship title in 2010, whilst he played a crucial role in helping them avoid the drop the season after, scoring a very memorable hat-trick against fierce-rivals Sunderland in the process.

Nolan was briefly a player/coach at Leyton Orient before being appointed as Notts County player manager in January 2017. Nolan lasted until August 2018 in that role before he left the club bottom of League 2. The former Bolton Wanderers man would take some time away from the game before joining up with Moyes at West Ham in February 2020.

West Ham have also confirmed that head of player recruitment Rob Newman, first-team technical advisor Alan Irvine, fitness coach Nick Davies and head of performance analysis Jamie Osman will also leave the club. All of these staff departures will likely be replaced by people picked by whoever replaces Moyes in the West Ham dugout. That is expected to be former Real Madrid and Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui.

Lopetegui has been out of management since leaving Molineux on the eve of the season back in August. The 57-year-old won the Europa League with Sevilla back in 2020 and guided Spain to the 2018 World Cup - a tournament he wouldn’t get to manage in after being sacked as manager just before the start of the competition.