Graham Potter has hit his first real bit of turbulence since joining West Ham and doubts are already creeping in among some.
Until the defeat to Brentford at the weekend, Graham Potter’s first month or so at West Ham had been mostly positive.
Despite recording just one win from his first five games heading into the Premier League clash with the Bees, fans had been enthused by what they’d seen.
The Hammers had, on the whole, been performing much better under Potter.
The approach and style was more in line with what West Ham fans want to see – bar the woeful home defeat to Palace.
West Ham’s away following even applauded the team off after a harsh defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
That was noted by Potter who lauded the fans, saying ‘they know their football’.
Less than a week later, the new boss was seeing the other side to the club’s fed up fanbase.
Brady shares West Ham board’s true view on Potter six weeks in
West Ham were jeered off at half-time and full-time as they lost 1-0 to Brentford at the London Stadium.
The first half in particular was as bad as it has been for the Hammers in a dismal 14 months that has yielded just 13 wins from 53 matches.
Potter was criticised for his part in the loss as he was completely outwitted by Thomas Frank, whose side should have been 4-0 up by the break.
The former Brighton and Chelsea boss had been out of work for nearly two years before accepting the Hammers job.
Many believe it showed in that first half against Brentford.
Especially with Potter’s bizarre use of West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen.
Now the person who pushed for Potter to be the man to replace Julen Lopetegui has spoken about his appointment.
Karren Brady shares the West Ham board’s true view on Potter six weeks in as his targets are made clear.
The Hammers vice-chair appeared as a guest on the latest episode of The Boardroom podcast, co-hosted by Jack Sullivan, the son of her boss – West Ham majority owner David Sullivan.
Brady revealed West Ham did meet several candidates before sacking Lopetegui.
But she has explained why West Ham chose Potter, what they think of him and insists he is under no illusions the ultimate goal is to compete for European football again next season.
‘Joy to work with’ but Potter under no illusions at West Ham
“We met a few people and Graham stood out,” Brady said.
“He’s so articulate, so clear in his thinking, so clear in what needed to be done to improve the team. And we spent so much money last summer, £160 million on bringing in new players and we felt that someone needed to get more out of them.
“What you really want a manager to do is to get every player playing to their best potential, to get every player improving, to have clear communication, to have great morale.
“And we made a change and Graham has come in and had an instant impact in the way that we play, the energy, the organisation.
“He’s really clear on things that are important to us. And I think to our supporters that the Academy has to be a central part of everything that we do. Improving players, having good communications with the supporters.
“He understands that there’s an expectation. We talked about Prague and what we want to achieve. He understands there’s an expectation and he understands that he has to deliver that.
“He’s a good communicator. He’s really clear on what he wants, and he’s a joy to work with.”
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