Graham Potter has been labelled a soft touch by some West Ham fans and pundits but that has changed after he delivered his most damning verdict yet.
West Ham have been underperforming long before Graham Potter arrived in east London.
One of the reasons the David Moyes era came to an end was because he managed just five victories in the second half of last season.
Shockingly, only nine have been added to that between two managers in the entirety of this season.
West Ham have been in freefall since January 2024.
The Hammers have just 13 Premier League wins in 54 games since then and only three of them have come in the 16 Potter has overseen since taking over from Julen Lopetegui.
It can’t just be the managers to blame for West Ham’s struggles
The Spaniard was dubbed ‘Flopetegui’ by West Ham fans for winning just seven of his 22 matches.
He was deemed the most hapless appointment since Avram Grant.
So what does that make Potter, many West Ham observers have pondered?
West Ham spoke out on Potter’s future after the underwhelming draw with Tottenham’s B team.
The 49-year-old had been out of football for nearly two years before accepting West Ham’s offer of a return to the game.
Some would argue it has showed.
Simon Jordan believes Potter is ‘weak’ and not in control of a ‘bad’ West Ham dressing room.
Tony Cascarino says West Ham’s manager is ‘boring’.
Potter has admitted managing the Hammers is already taking its toll on him and his family.
But he has showed he can ditch his Nice Guy persona too of late.
The manager said it is time to blame West Ham’s players after the collapse to Brighton.
Many fans agreed with him.
Especially as reports claim Potter is struggling to stamp his authority on a toxic West Ham dressing room where players are regularly fighting.
Now it seems the manager has given up trying after four months in the job.
Potter gives up and puts certain West Ham players on notice
Because Potter has delivered his most brutal verdict yet on West Ham players and confirms summer exits with certain players needing to be moved on.
With West Ham sat 17th off the back of their worst season since relegation under Grant, it is abundantly clear for all to see that major changes are needed.
A rebuild of the squad is required and West Ham say Potter will “100 per cent” be the man in charge of doing it.
Potter has already dropped the bombshell that West Ham’s squad is too big.
The Englishman wants to trim it down, especially as the Hammers don’t have European football to keep players in regular game time.
After trying the nice guy routine, where he gave players extra time off and refused to criticise them after matches, Potter is starting to show his teeth.
‘You won’t change, so I’ll change you’ Potter warns Hammers stars
While naming no names, certain West Ham players have now been put on notice by the Irons boss.
Because he has tried to get them to change their ways but they simply won’t.
“It’s hard to say at the moment (how many players will leave and how many will arrive this summer,” Potter told the press, as reported by The Athletic.
“I think I wouldn’t want to quantify it (with a specific number).
“There’s a saying, isn’t there – if you can’t change people, change people.
“We have to make decisions that make sure the club is in a better place going forward. We’re working with the players we have. We’re working all the time to try to get the level we want.”
Potter signals West Ham clear-out after losing patience
That is the most cutting admission yet from Potter since he arrived at the London Stadium.
Niclas Fullkrug, Jarrod Bowen and Potter have all questioned the mentality at the club.
Lopetegui touched on that too during his short-lived tenure.
These comments from Potter show he has tried but failed to change attitudes, behaviour and mentality.
And as he says himself ‘if you can’t change people – change people’.
The clearest sign yet a number of players are a problem in that dressing room.
The good news is that Potter, for all his faults so far, has identified them and appears intent on weeding them out.
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