The first question put to Graham Potter, as West Ham United prepare to welcome London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday’s latest Premier League clash, was regarding the fitness of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The reigning Hammer of the Year was forced to drop out ahead of last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur due to illness, with the returning Lukasz Fabianski taking his place on the bench.
Will Aaron Wan-Bissaka return in time for West Ham United to improve their dismal recent home record against another capital city neighbour?
Graham Potter also spoke about the availability of striking duo Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug.
Hammers icon Tony Cottee was bemused by Wilson’s absence from the starting XI against Spurs, particularly after the veteran poacher opened his account in his previous outing.
Potter, during his press conference on Thursday afternoon, indicated that Wilson will be in contention for a belated first West Ham start when Oliver Glasner and co come to town. Niclas Fullkrug is also available, having recovered from a calf injury he picked up on Germany duty.
Graham Potter rules out Aaron Wan-Bissaka ahead of West Ham United vs Crystal Palace
On a day of mixed news, however, Potter confirmed that Kyle Walker-Peters is likely to start at right-back once again, with Wan-Bissaka still suffering from the stomach issue which saw him drop out at the very last minute against Tottenham.
“I think Aaron Wan-Bissaka will still be unavailable [due to] a problem with his stomach,” Potter says. “Hopefully, he will be [in] late training tomorrow or the weekend. But he won’t be available for the weekend’s game.
“Apart from that, Callum has had a full week’s training, so it’s good for him [and] Niclas Fullkrug. So, pretty much as we were.”
West Ham’s board appeared to stand by Graham Potter in a statement issued to an unhappy fanbase in the build up to that Crystal Palace clash.
While Hammers News have been told that Coventry City boss Frank Lampard may consider a return to East London, while Slaven Bilic’s old assistant Edin Terzic opened the door himself, Potter certainly does not sound like a man accepting of his potential fate.
“I think you have to do lots of things in this job. You have to build, develop, but you also have to win,” Potter adds. “It’s fair to say we haven’t done that as much as we would like, and then there is always pressure, negativity, criticism, all those things.
“But, at the end of the day, this is a fantastic job. It’s an important job at an amazing football club with an amazing support, a fanbase and an ambition.
“So, if you want to do something good, then it’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be hard. That’s just the nature of the job in the highest league in the world. If you think it’s going to be easy, then it clearly isn’t.
“But you have to do all those things; Build, develop and win.”
“If you don’t win as much as you’d like, there is always noise and criticism. That’s fair. That’s the world we’re in. Everyone wants West Ham to do well; the fans, the players, the board, my staff. We are all on the same page and we are all hurting the same.
“We have to try to – and we will – stick together. That’s part of this club as well. But at the same time, you have to hear when there’s criticism and feedback, and think about how you can improve.”
Potter hopes to build on the positives of Tottenham Hotspur clash
Despite another heavy home defeat last time out, Graham Potter saw plenty of positives from that Tottenham reverse. El Hadji Malick Diouf, Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville impressed again, while Soungoutou Magassa made a fine early impression off the bench.
“We’ve played two matches at home. Chelsea, the Club World Cup champions. And Tottenham, who are competing in the Champions League,” the head coach concludes. “They have invested and got good teams.
“The sample isn’t big but, [including] last season, the home record for a time hasn’t been what we want in terms of points and probably performances.
“So to change that around, you need a bit of time. I think you have to analyse the game. Tottenham, I think, we played well first-half. Pretty quickly, we go a goal down and react well. But then we have a red card and the game goes away from us.
“Chelsea is a slightly different story but we have to focus on the next match, bring that first-half to the game and take up the challenge.”
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