Graham Potter puts Julen Lopetegui and David Moyes to shame just one month into West Ham reign

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From his very first press conference Graham Potter made it clear what West Ham will look like under him and he wasn’t paying lip service.

Graham Potter brings up his first month as West Ham boss this week.

It’s been a whirlwind start which included taking charge of his first game after just 24 hours and one training session.

There has been no honeymoon period for Potter at West Ham in terms of results or luck.

Three defeats, one win and a draw from his first five games at the Hammers helm have been largely impacted by a glut of injuries.

Despite that, there have been major positives everywhere you look.

Fans feel they’ve got their West Ham back.

Potter has made an instant impact on the style and approach that was visible from the first game at Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

Injuries to Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug derailed West Ham in that game after they had deservedly gone 1-0 up.

A lack of squad depth – and some questionable refereeing – also saw the Hammers let a 1-0 lead slip to lose 2-1 at Chelsea.

Potter puts Lopetegui and Moyes to shame at West Ham

But the performance, alongside that in the 1-1 draw at Villa the week before, have given fans plenty of encouragement.

West Ham are pressing, playing with a much higher intensity and look more organised.

There is renewed optimism, fans feel more connected with the team.

And the players are tripping over themselves to rave about Potter and how much better, clearer and more positive things are.

To top it all off, the new boss has been true to his word about giving young players a chance.

In his opening presser, Potter vowed to make more use of West Ham’s famed academy.

He repeatedly talked about the great job being done by Mark Noble and co.

Ollie Scarles and Lewis Orford have been given game time – and not just a couple of minutes at the end of matches.

Now Potter has put Julen Lopetegui and David Moyes to shame just one month into his West Ham reign.

Too many West Ham managers have ignored the club’s academy talent for too long.

That is perhaps best highlighted by what’s gone on under Potter’s two predecessors.

Just before West Ham won their first trophy for 43 years out in Prague, West Ham won the FA Youth Cup for the first time since the Joe Cole golden generation of 1999.

West Ham thumped Arsenal 5-1 in the final in front of an army of 9,000 travelling Hammers fans.

Two players in the Arsenal team that day were Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

They couldn’t cope with West Ham.

Potter and staff show they’re serious about the Academy

Yet they are now certified Premier League stars and regulars for Arsenal while West Ham’s cup winning talents have found their pathway to the first team blocked.

Until now.

Potter has showed he is deadly serious with his promise about using academy players.

And what he was spotted doing yesterday shows West Ham finally have a manager who gets it.

Potter and his entire staff were spotted in the stands watching West Ham’s Under 18s beat Manchester United in the Premier League Under 18s Cup quarter-final at Rush Green.

After a 2-2 draw, the Hammers’ kids won 5-4 on penalties to progress to the semi-finals.

The whole team – and entire academy setup – would have been lifted seeing Potter, Bruno, Billy Reid and Narcis Pelach in the stand for the game.

West Ham posted a picture of the manager and his staff watching on.

The reaction from West Ham fans on social media says everything.

Lopetegui was never seen at a youth team game and even Moyes, who did a great job at the club, wasn’t known to watch the Academy this closely.

A number of players really stood out too.

Striker Josh Ajala scored and played brilliantly in front of the first team manager.

Defender Ezra Mayers also produced one of the best recovery tackles you’ll ever see to stop a certain goal.

Mayers sprinted back 30 yards to stop the Red Devils scoring on a counter-attack.

The day after seeing his team harshly lose against his old club Chelsea, Potter could be forgiven for going through the motions after an intense first month at West Ham.

Instead he was in the stands to watch the next generation of West Ham stars show their potential.

The difference now is they have every chance of fulfilling that potential under a manager who is not paying lip service to the club’s academy roots like those before him.