As the curtain closes on a poor season focus now turns to a vital summer transfer window and West Ham are in very good hands, says Graham Potter.
The Hammers ended a dismal campaign on a positive note with a 3-1 win at Ipswich.
Two more goal contributions from Jarrod Bowen and a Mohammed Kudus curler secured West Ham’s victory.
But only three West Ham stars showed they are worth keeping in the unconvincing display.
West Ham focus now turns to summer overhaul
It is now Graham Potter’s mammoth mission to overhaul a team lacking in so many departments.
West Ham’s over-reliance on Bowen was on full view again and must be addressed.
Hammers fans target Thomas Tuchel with chants over Bowen as he embarrassed the England boss.
But the sheer dependency on Bowen at West Ham could be just as shameful if Potter does not get it sorted this summer heading into what’s expected to be the most fiercely competitive Premier League season for years.
West Ham revealed striker and midfield are priorities for the forthcoming transfer window with at least five new signings targeted.
The summer transfer window opens on June 1 and essentially gives the Hammers a bumper three months to get deals done until it closes in September.
With so much work to be done, in and out, that extra time is welcome.
Last summer’s £155m spend did not work out for the Hammers at all, as their final Premier League position of 14th signifies.
Potter makes bold Macaulay West Ham transfer claim
Further regression is not an option for the Irons next season.
The manager, head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay and de facto director of football David Sullivan must now work together on the most important summer window for years.
Ahead of Ipswich, Potter fired his first warning to Sullivan over West Ham transfers.
He stated he will be heavily involved in all signings.
Now Potter has made a bold Macaulay transfer claim and says new West Ham signings must show respect.
The Hammers boss has been making it clear he wants to trim what he feels is a bloated squad for a team not in Europe.
Potter has revealed Macaulay has targets lined up waiting.
And he has suggested new arrivals must have something some of the current squad lack – respect for West Ham’s values.
“I’ll be spending some time with the family but you’re just working in a different place to be honest, your phone is on and you’re doing different stuff,” Potter told West Ham TV when asked his plans for the summer.
“Kyle has been busy (working on signings), we’ve all been working as a club (on transfers).
“We need to plan, we need to reflect, we need to make the right decisions in terms of what we do going forward and it’s going to be an exciting and interesting summer.”
While Potter says he would ideally like signings in the door as early as possible so he can gel the team in pre-season, he has called for patience saying it’s about getting the right players and characters over when. they get them.
‘New West Ham signings must show respect’ Potter insists
“In an ideal world you want to do things early but sometimes it’s not like that, you have to be patient, you have to do the right things rather than the quick things,” he added.
“If we can do anything (quickly) we will. But making the right decision, aligned, together is the focus for us.”
Any new signings must be the right characters who want to be at West Ham and respect the club’s values and traditions says Potter, in a suggestion that has not necessarily been the case previously.
“Hopefully new faces (for pre-season), try to gel the group, working environment, working the culture, these things are so important for us,” he added.
“You know West Ham is a fantastic football club. As I’ve said before it’s like a family and we need to make sure we respect that – and that’s where the work is going to be in the pre-season.”
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