If Graham Potter wasn’t feeling the heat already at West Ham he will be now as the pressure is piled on by the press.
When a manager has won just three of their first 14 games at any football club they will find themselves being questioned.
So Graham Potter should not be surprised that he is the man in the Premier League spotlight after a dismal start to life at West Ham.
Things were so bad under Julen Lopetegui that the only way was up for West Ham.
The Spaniard was dubbed ‘Flopetegui’ by fans as the Hammers sat 13th in the table with little prospect of the stated aim of competing for a European spot.
But West Ham have gone backwards in Potter’s three months in charge, regressing from 13th to 17th place.
No Potter magic for West Ham so far
The Englishman has insisted he has tightened West Ham up defensively and made the team ‘competitive in all the games’.
At the moment, though, only Avram Grant has a worse Premier League win percentage as West Ham manager than Potter currently boasts.
Although Potter has done little so far to turn the ride at West Ham, the malaise started long before his arrival.
The Hammers have fallen off a cliff since a 2-0 win at Arsenal on December 28th 2023. Quite literally.
The club has gone from being firmly ensconced in the top six – one win off the top four – midway through last season to winning just 13 of their 52 Premier League matches since.
Sitting 17th, West Ham and Potter are grateful the bottom three are so bad this season.
But things could soon get even worse for the east London club.
Because the press smell Potter’s blood already as the Mirror make an astonishing West Ham claim.
There were incredible scenes as a reporter challenged Potter over Niclas Fullkrug’s outburst in his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Brighton.
It was recently leaked that West Ham have a break clause in Potter’s two-and-a-half-year contract which is active next year.
All manner of negative stories have been emerging from the club of late too, with suggestions a host of players want out this summer.
Press smell Potter’s blood already, Mirror make astonishing claim
Many Hammers fans have given Potter a pass this season, deciding that he can only be judged next term when he has his own team in place.
The manager has been afforded that period of grace chiefly because there is no real threat of relegation this season.
Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg has warned West Ham will be relegation candidate next season if things don’t change.
But The Mirror believe the Hammers still are THIS season.
According to the tabloid, there is still the possibility West Ham will be relegated next month.
Taking to social media, Mirror Football stated ‘stranger things have happened’.
The Mirror claims there is every chance West Ham lose their next four games.
‘Hammers can still go down – stranger things have happened’
And the point out that if Ipswich can somehow win their kinder fixtures, it will set up a do-or-die last day relegation decider between the Tractor Boys and the Hammers at Portman Road.
“If Ipswich win their next four games… and West Ham lose their next four games… Imagine the atmosphere at Portman Road on May 25th,” The Mirror states on X.
“Stranger things have happened.”
Should West Ham lose their next four and Ipswich win theirs, it would leave Potter’s side on 36 points with while the Tractor Boys would climb to 33 points.
It’s hard to argue against the suggestion West Ham could lose their next four games.
They face Brighton, Spurs, Man United and Forest after all and were lucky not to lose to already relegated cannon fodder Southampton last time out.
Whether Ipswich can win all of their next four is less likely, though.
They face Newcastle, Everton, Brentford and Leicester before welcoming West Ham on the final day.
Sensationalist claim proves knives are already out for Potter
As depressing as it is that West Ham are even in this hypothetical equation, The Mirror seem to be missing a key factor – goal difference.
It would take a 20-goal swing across the last five matches for Ipswich to go above the Hammers with a final day win.
Obviously any goals in that final day showdown would be worth double in terms of that swing – but it still makes the scenario almost impossible let alone improbable.
What this does illustrate is that the wider football press already have it in for Potter.
They can smell blood and pressure is being applied.
So just imagine what it will be like if Potter doesn’t get off to a good start next season when he does indeed have his own team in place.
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