Nuno: not your typical gaffer

Reading up on Nuno Espirito Santo it's clear he's not your typical gaffer. We've not had too many horsemen at West Ham, apart from the odd visit from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse during relegation seasons. But Nuno has a great love of horses and likes to ride in the morning before going to training, as you do. Well, it beats Big Sam's Ford Fiesta. You'd expect a bloke whose name translates as "Holy Spirit" to be a bit different. The gaffer also likes padel, a racquet game that is a hybrid of tennis and squash and plays a percussion instrument called a handpan.

Nuno grew up on the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, off the west coast of central Africa and seems to have quite a cultural hinterland. Whereas Graham Potter could at times sound a little David Brent-ish, Nuno looks and sounds more like the leader of some obscure religious cult. Henry Winter describes him as "soulful". 

As a player Nuno was a goalkeeper, itself unusual for a manager. He was signed by Jose Mourinho at Porto where he won the Champions League and several league titles, which should generate some respect in the dressing room. 

ZEN AND THE ART OF MIDFIELD MAINTENANCE

He's been around a bit, managing at Valencia and Porto before a very successful spell at Wolves where he won the Championship and steered them to seventh place in the PL. He wasn't really given a chance at Spurs but then won the Saudi Pro League and steered Forest away from trouble and into Europe, being in the top four for most of last season. Fans of the Tricky Trees are certainly missing him to judge by their reaction to Big Ange.

Nuno clearly has something about him. His former winger Anthony Elanga told the Athletic: “He is chilled, but quite demanding at the same time." So far he's tightened up the defence a little and made a point of giving young Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall some minutes - playing home-grown kids always goes down well with Hammers' fans. He is used to working with difficult chairmen after his experience with Marinakas at Forest. So hopefully Nuno will be able to cope with David Sullivan, who now seems set to have a bigger say in transfers. Nuno will need all his Zen-like qualities to cope with all the churn and dysfunction at West Ham. Let's hope he succeeds.