What Chelsea players called Graham Potter behind his back adds spice to West Ham clash

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New West Ham boss Graham Potter is fired up as he goes back to Chelsea for the first time as a manager after his sacking.

Graham Potter waited 20 months after being sacked by Chelsea and reportedly rejected 10 job offers before deciding to take the West Ham job.

Potter was chewed up and spat out by the unprecedented circus around Chelsea at the time of his appointment.

The Blues spent hundreds of millions on a plethora of players, leaving Potter with a bloated squad.

It is highly unlikely West Ham would have been able to lure Potter away from Brighton.

But his unsuccessful and short-lived stint at Stamford Bridge has eventually seen him land at the London Stadium.

Potter has ‘no hard feelings’ as West Ham go to Chelsea

Potter insists he has no hard feelings towards Chelsea ahead of West Ham’s big Premier League clash with their rivals.

Although the new Hammers boss has admitted he needed the near two-year break he had since to refresh and recover, so intense was the experience.

Potter has fond memories of ‘special nights’ against the likes of AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

But he is honest enough to admit ‘results weren’t ideal during my time at the club’.

Potter insists he is delighted to now be at West Ham and says he sees the Chelsea experience as ‘part of my journey’.

“I wish them well as a club, and I’m thankful for my time there because it’s part of my journey,” Potter said of Chelsea ahead of the game.

What Chelsea players called Potter behind back adds spice

That’s despite some pretty sad revelations which emerged following his sacking.

What Chelsea players called Potter behind his back adds spice to West Ham clash.

Potter has been a revelation at West Ham so far.

He has already made a huge impact on how the Hammers play and approach games.

Fans are enthused with the logic being that if this is what Potter can do in a month, imagine what the next two-and-a-half years will look like.

READ MORE: Predicted: Bowen back as Potter makes 2 West Ham changes for Chelsea

The Irons were superb and deserved to beat Aston Villa away last time out.

Four top Hammers stars including Lucas Paqueta, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek have all raved about Potter’s West Ham impact ahead of Chelsea.

The quartet say he has brought new life to the club.

It’s a world away from how things ended for the ex Seagulls boss at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea players called Potter names before sacking

Potter was called “Harry” and “Hogwarts” by Chelsea players behind his back prior to his sacking in west London, as revealed by The Athletic at the time.

While that may seem a bit of juvenile, harmless fun, the report stated it was a result of his ‘failure to command the same respect as his predecessor Thomas Tuchel’.

The report states Potter struggled to win players over and ‘they believed he lacked authority’ which led to him being called “Harry” and “Hogwarts” by Chelsea stars when out of the earshot of their manager.

It was claimed belief within the dressing room was that he was simply a “yes” man, taking on a squad of over 30 players which left some stars having to change in the corridors due to a lack of space in the main changing room.

The reality of course was that it was an impossible situation which would have broken even the most experienced of managers – as it has since.

Now Potter has a chance to exact some revenge for that treatment with many players still there from his time as boss.

West Ham will be hoping ‘Harry Hogwarts’ can work his magic on his old club and have the last laugh.