After that Crystal Palace defeat, Graham Potter has had to contend with incessant speculation surrounding his job, difficult talks with the West Ham United hierarchy, and photos of his face plastered onto David Sullivan’s fiancee.
It goes without saying, then, that this has not been one of the easiest weeks of Graham Potter’s career.
It’s difficult not to feel a slight pang of sympathy as a memeified Potter becomes a figure of fun on social media. His face popping up underneath Alejandro Garnacho’s peroxide locks, on the entire Newcastle United squad, and as part of a Chuckle Brothers reboot alongside the similarly-maligned James Ward-Prowse.
Yet, as West Ham United travel to Everton on the back of four defeats from five Premier League matches, Potter accepts that this is simply part of the territory. Albeit the risk of being superimposed onto Donald Trump or ‘Big John the Boshfather’ is not something the likes of Avram Grant had to contend with during their own spells in the East London hotseat.
Hammers News have also been told that replacements are being sought ahead of an anticipated October change. Vice-chair Karren Brady held talks with Nuno Espirito Santo last week. Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was also sounded out before signing a new three-year deal at Molineux.
Graham Potter accepts Nuno Espirito Santo speculation as West Ham United struggles continue
Speaking to the media during another press conference probing, Potter admitted that he talked over West Ham’s struggles with a concerned hierarchy post-Crystal Palace. And while he describes those talks as largely ‘positive’, the results are anything but.
“I think you have to accept, at the highest level, that the margins are small, and you can’t wait for those to come round for you,” Potter begins. “You have to keep working. We have to accept the reality of the situation and keep moving forward and try to change it.
“That’s the job. That’s life. We are looking forward to changing that dynamic.
“[The links with Nuno and co] don’t affect me. I don’t listen to that. It is [the reporters’] job to create speculation. It is part of the noise of the Premier League, what you sign up for.
“If results aren’t good – and they haven’t been, I am not shying away from that – there is always speculation, noise, negativity, and there’s nothing to complain about from my perspective
“[With the board this week, I had] positive talks. But we understand where we are at. We want to improve. No one is happy with where we are at. At the same time, you have to look at the context, the situation, and not get caught up in the noise.”
Potter explains why he took on ‘exciting challenge’ at the London Stadium
Delving into the more philosophical nature of the modern world, is Graham Potter a victim of a Tik Tok-brained generation sated by ‘instant gratification’ culture? At the risk of getting all Uni dissertation about it, Potter does feel that he may be a victim of some expecting too much too soon.
Then again, eight months and 25 games in charge is hardly a small sample size.
“It sounds obvious, but I would like [our problems] to change now. Tomorrow. The next game. We all want that,” the former Chelsea boss adds. “But we play football in the highest league, so nothing is straightforward. If the problem is the head coach, and that is the narrative or the conclusion, then, yeah, the consequences are the consequences.
“But there is another way to look at it. Whether we do in this world is another thing. We live in a world where people want things instantly. It can take some time.
“I think every Premier League job is a hard job. That’s stating the facts. It’s normal. Every team is good. Every coach is good. There are resources everywhere. In terms of this job, you don’t know how things are when you go in [at a new club]
“Then, you have to look and make your assessment. I thought this was going to be a challenge. That is why I took the job. It’s an incredible challenge. An exciting challenge.
“When you use words like ‘hard’, people think it’s a negative, but it’s not. Everything that is worth doing in life, you have to accept there is going to be a struggle.”
Nuno Espirito Santo, Scott Parker and Frank Lampard linked
In addition to Nuno and Pereira, Hammers News have been told that Burnley boss Scott Parker is a favourite of Mark Noble’s. The club’s sporting director played alongside Parker at Upton Park over a decade ago.
Noble also admires the work Frank Lampard has done at Coventry City, with Michael Carrick another on his radar despite his sacking by Middlesbrough in June.
“I have been coaching for 15, 20 years,” Potter points out. “Football is tough. The margins are small. The nature of the game is so, so challenging. The best teams sometimes don’t win, it can be unfair, all that stuff. Always, you have to assess at all points, where are we at.
“If your assessment is that everything is great, it’s all positive, a young dynamic group of players with hunger, Ok, that’s a starting point.
“If the start point is slightly different, then clearly the challenge is different.”
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