Graham Potter confirms talks with West Ham bosses and hints at lack of investment

West Ham boss Graham Potter says he has been in contact with the club’s higherups amid talk he will be replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo in the near future. Potter has struggled to turn things around at the London Stadium after arriving back in January.

It was hoped that this season would bring differing results after some turnover in the squad, but West Ham have lost five of their first six games across all competitions, and they have just one win from five games in the Premier League.

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding Potter’s future, and there is even talk that Santo has been interviewed by the Hammers this week, with the club sensing there will be a decision to be made after an away clash with Everton and a date with Arsenal

In the meantime, Potter must get on with his job and attempt to turn things around while he still has chance, and he was asked in his press conference on Friday whether he has spoken the club bosses.

“Yeah, of course, as we do every week,” he responded. “They are positive talks and we understand where we are at and we want to improve. No one is happy with where we are at, and at the same time, you have to look at the context of the situation and not get caught up in the noise.”

Asked about his side’s poor form, he said: “You have to accept at the highest level that the margins are small and you can't wait for those to turn around. You have to accept the reality of the situation, keep moving forward and try to change it. We are looking forward to changing that dynamic.

“I think every Premier League job is a hard job, that's stating the facts. it's normal because it's the highest. If you think about how many coaches there are in the world. If you are one of the 20 coaches, it's hard. Every team, every coach is good. There are resources everywhere. It's always hard. In terms of this job, you don't know how things are before you go in, once you are in you make your assessment. From the outside, I thought it was a challenge and people think that's negative, but if you want to do something important or special, you have to accept there is going to be struggle, and you have to deal with that.”

He continued when asked if the job has been harder than he envisaged: “I've been coaching for 15 or 20 years. Football is tough because the margins are small. The nature of the game is so challenging. The best team doesn't always win and all that stuff. My experience in football, and you always have to assess where the club is at, where are we at? If the assessment is that it's all great, that there has been great investment and that there are younger players with hunger, then great, but if the starting point is different, then the challenge is different. That's always the way.”

Despite speculation surrounding his job being almost deafening at this point, Potter says he is not paying attention to the noise. “That doesn't affect me,” he said. “I don't listen to it. It's people's job to have speculation and it's what you sign up for. If results aren't good, and they haven't been, we have to accept that. There is always noise and there is nothing to complain about from my perspective.

“I'd like it change now, tomorrow, the next game. We all want that. But we play sport, football, in the highest league. Nothing is straight forward. We don't worry too much about time frames and things I can't worry about.”

West Ham face a tricky away trip when they head to Merseyside on Monday to face Everton, but they will have a near full squad to call upon. “Aaron (Wan-Bissaka) will still be missing. He has a stomach problem. Apart from that everyone is available,” Potter confirmed.

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