Scott Parker forced to drop two players from West Ham squad for his first match due to little-known EFL rule

New West Ham head coach Scott Parker was forced to leave out two players from his first Championship squad selection for his side's 3-3 draw at Cardiff City due to a little-known EFL rule.

Parker was appointed as Hammers boss on Wednesday morning, replacing Nuno Espirito Santo. In an unusual move, the new manager decided to take charge of his new squad in a competitive match on his first day in charge.

The 46-year-old, who spent four years at West Ham as a player between 2007 and 2011, endured the worst possible start in the hotseat as the Hammers went 3-0 down thanks to a first-half hat-trick from Cardiff midfielder Jack Moylan.

But Parker's half-time team talk must have inspired a comeback, as goals from Divine Mukasa, Arne Engels and Max Kilman rescued a point in south Wales.

West Ham faced major dilemma over EFL rule

As part of his first squad selection, Parker omitted striker Pablo and winger Maxwel Cornet - who cost West Ham a combined sum of £38.5 million while they were in the Premier League.

Pablo has been a regular starter for the Hammers in the Championship, though has only scored one goal in nine appearances. Cornet, meanwhile, hasn't played for West Ham all season but did reportedly travel with the rest of the squad to south Wales.

Pablo was dropped from the West Ham squad for their 3-3 draw vs Cardiff (Image: Getty)

But both players were omitted due to an EFL rule which states that at least seven home-grown players must be selected in each matchday squad.

With only Max Kilman, Jarrod Bowen and Divine Mukasa named as home-grown players in the starting XI by Parker, it meant that at least four more home-grown players would have to be named on the bench.

Alphonse Areola, Edvin Austbo, Mohamadou Kante, Joel Piroe and Tomas Soucek were named the bench as non-homegrown players, with Airidas Golambeckis, Ezra Mayers, Lewis Orford and Ollie Scarles named as the four required homegrown players. All four players satisfy the EFL's second squad requirement, in that each squad must contain one club-developed player.

Should any team fall foul of the second requirement, they would only be permitted to name eight substitutes in the following league match instead of the usual nine.

Scott Parker speaks out on taking West Ham job

Parker has managed three previous clubs to promotion from the Championship, with Burnley, Fulham and Bournemouth all reaching the Premier League under his stewardship.

The 46-year-old has, therefore, guided every English club he has managed to promotion. He also has four years of experience of West Ham as a player, and was the second player in the club's history to have been named as the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year, in 2011.

"It is a very proud moment for me to step into this role and return to a club that means so much to me and my family," Parker told West Ham's official website. "A lot of very fond memories of my time here ... there was a warmth, a love, a feeling that I probably didn't have anywhere else.

"There was something which stood out constantly and that was the relationship that I built up with the fanbase here. More than anything, this is an opportunity that I am very excited about. I feel privileged and honoured to be the guy that wants to lead us back to the Premier League and be the head coach of this football club at this moment in time."