'Really upset' - Former West Ham boss thinks Graham Potter must address player problem
Graham Potter has some issues to resolve at West Ham, both on and off the pitch.
A former West Ham boss is concerned about what he heard from one of the player’s after Saturday’s frustrating draw with bottom club Southampton. The Irons have struggled to win games under Graham Potter, winning only two of the last 12, and a clash with bottom club - and already relegated - Southampton looked as though it should have been a gimme.
But the Saints went on to equalise after a Jarrod Bowen opener, and the South Coast club have now equalled Derby County’s infamous worst-ever Premier League points tally of 11. The Hammers, meanwhile, are in 17th, and while they are safe from relegation, their inability to pick up form under Potter will fill plenty of fans with concern ahead of next season.
Potter has a big job ahead of him going into the summer, and it seems there are a few unhappy campers at London Stadium, with Niclas Fullkrug calling out his teammates, and perhaps even his manager, after the draw with Southampton.
He said: “I'm very, very angry that we played like this because we had some minutes where we showed what we can do against an opponent like that at home. We showed that we can have good possession, that we have can go in behind and that we have the chances to score again. But the motivation, sorry, we were s***. I'm very angry.
“I think there were 25 to 30 minutes in the second half which were very good and we showed that we can have very good possessions, that we can go in behind [Southampton’s defence], and that we could have the chances to score again.
“It's not the first time that we scored a goal and... we don't try to play [possession] football anymore, we don't push up anymore, we just sink and that's not the way we want to play. When we can play 65 minutes before with possession, even if it's not perfect, we tried to play with possession, we tried to create chances, we tried to score and then we scored a goal and after that, [the way we played] that's not the way it works. We have to find a way to have a togetherness, to have the idea of where we want to go, what we want to do, and the coach is very clear in what he wants but we have to do it all, [and] everyone has to do it. It’s just my feelings today.”
Pardew unimpressed
After hearing those comments, former West Ham boss Alan Pardew said on TalkSPORT: “Unfortunately for Graham, he has a player come out and give a press conference in a quite outlandish way, I would have been really upset with that as the manager.
“He was almost criticising the team tactically, if I were a teammate, I would certainly have an issue with him. Forget about the manager, if I see him on Monday and I was a player, I’d be like, ‘what have you got to say, who were you talking about, who are you referring to?’, but that is another story.”
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