Any cautious optimism that was slowly building in the West Ham United fanbase over the international break was obliterated on Saturday afternoon.
Instead of building on their impressive 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, the East Londoners reverted to type and lost by the same scoreline against Tottenham Hotspur.
With an abysmal record of six wins, five draws and 13 losses in his 24 games in charge, it now feels like a matter of when and not if David Sullivan and Co sack Graham Potter.
West Ham United manager Graham Potter looks dejected
One of the names recently touted to replace him has been Nuno Espírito Santo, but West Ham might be wiser to re-sign a former coach instead, and no, we aren't talking about David Moyes.
Why West Ham might want Nuno
While he might not be the first name on the wishlist of every fan, it's not hard to understand why West Ham are reportedly keen on Nuno.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo reacts at the end of the match
Firstly, unlike some of the other managers that have been suggested as replacements for Potter, like Frank Lampard, the Portuguese coach is currently out of work, and therefore should be far easier to bring on board.
Secondly, he's already very familiar with English football, and the Premier League specifically, having managed Wolverhampton Wanderers for 199 games, Spurs for 17 and Forest for 71.
Nuno's managerial career
Team
Forest
Al-Ittihad
Spurs
Wolves
Porto
Valencia
Rio Ave
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Finally, although his time in North London was far from successful, he made a significant impact at the other two clubs.
For example, the 51-year-old led the Old Gold into the top-flight, and then not only made them a permanent fixture, but led them into the Europa League, where they reached the quarter-finals in the 19/20 season.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo before the match
Likewise, when he took over the Tricky Trees, they were staring down the barrel of relegation, and now they are preparing for life in the Europa League.
In all, Nuno would undoubtedly be an improvement on Potter, but West Ham may be able to make an even better appointment than the former Forest boss by re-hiring someone who's already spent time in the London Stadium dugout.
The coach West Ham should re-hire instead of Nuno
Now, when we talk about West Ham re-hiring an old coach, the first name that may come to mind for many is David Moyes.
However, the Scotsman is currently doing a brilliant job with Everton, and we aren't even talking about him in this instance. Instead, the coach the Hammers should bring back to the London Stadium is Edin Terzić.
Yes, while the 42-year-old has never been the East Londoners' manager, he was the assistant to Slaven Bilić during the Croatian's time at the helm between 2015 and 2017, a period in which the club notched up some impressive wins against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.
The German tactician took up his first head coach role in December 2020 when he was appointed as Borussia Dortmund's interim manager following the departure of Lucien Favre.
The boyhood Dortmund fan was an instant hit at the Signal Iduna Park, overseeing 20 wins, four draws and just eight losses, which saw the team finish in third place, just a point off RB Leipzig.
TERZIC
More importantly, though, he managed to win the DFB Pokal, beating Leipzig 4-1 in the final, which was likely more than the club could have hoped for when appointing him.
The Menden-born would be given the job permanently a year later, following the firing of Marco Rose at the end of the 21/22 season.
It didn't take long for the "incredible" manager, as dubbed by former Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, to work his magic as the German giants found themselves in a title race, losing out on goal difference on the final day.
While such a bitter disappointment would be enough to destroy some coaches, the Hammers assistant remained in the job and led Dortmund on an incredible Champions League run the following year, which saw them make the final, only to lose out to perennial winners Real Madrid.
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic looks dejected after the match
He opted to leave his role following that game and has been without a club since.
In all, the still young coach has overseen 128 matches in his managerial career, winning 75, drawing 24 and losing just 29, which comes out to a points per game average of 1.95, which is significantly better than Nuno's average of 1.71 points per game.
Terzic's Managerial career
Games
Wins
Losses
Draws
Points per Game
Goals For
Goals Against
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Ultimately, while the former Forest man would be a great hire, we can't help but think Terzic would be the more ambitious option, as his record at Dortmund shows.